Despite adverse publicity deriving from the collapse of travel agencies, sometimes in suspicious circumstances, public trust in agents is increasing steadily, according to an established Australia-wide research project conducted annually for the past eight years.
The 2019 SureSave Travel Insurance Index found that 76% of Australians said they viewed travel agents as “a trusted source of travel and safety advice”. This is an improvement of 19% since SureSave’s research began in 2012, when only 57% of respondents viewed agents in that manner.
About 38% of Australians used a travel agent to purchase their last overseas leisure trip, the survey indicated.
SureSave is a leading provider of travel assistance and insurance, well known in the industry. Its head of agency sales, Matt Endycott, concludes that travel agents are now more trusted than ever.
“It is encouraging to see that travellers continue to place such a high importance on agents’ specialised knowledge when booking travel plans, whether that be to organise complex itineraries or to receive information on travel insurance,” Endycott said.
“Each year, we continue to see a high number of travellers in Australia turning to agents for travel advice.
“Through our research, we continue to shed light on the travel habits of Australians, and also provide insight into their perception of agents.
“Whilst there are still those people who turn to the internet for help and information, we are seeing that travel agents are highly regarded in the eyes of the general public and overall, travellers really want to maximise the expertise provided by agents,” Endycott said.
The SureSave Travel Insurance Index is an annual, independently commissioned piece of research, involving 1000 respondents in Australia.
This year, it found that slightly under four in 10 (38%) of Australians used a travel agent to purchase their last overseas leisure trip. 20% of respondents cited the main reason for booking travel through an agent as, “it’s easier to book through a travel agent when booking complex itineraries”. A further 17% opted for “it’s convenient to book everything through a travel agent”.
For their most recent international leisure trip, 23% of Australians sourced their travel insurance policy from a travel agency (either in person, via email, online or over the phone), making it the second most popular option behind the 26% of Australians who sourced it directly from an insurance company (online, via email or over the phone).
“At SureSave, we aim to ensure that agents are at the forefront of travel insurance and constantly stay well informed in order to confidently provide information to customers that best suit their needs,” Endycott commented.
Written by Peter Needham
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