- Travel and the Internet - How Times Have Changed By: Bev Stewart

In the early 70’s buying airplane tickets for a family vacation was easy!  Walk to the local travel agency  Visit with the travel agent who had been doing her same job for years.  Decide which airport to would fly into  Decide which dates to depart and return home  Purchase the tickets; write a check; walk out the door with the tickets.

Today, the internet has changed travel in three significant ways: 1.The death of the travel agent 2.Suppliers now offer direct access to the travel customer. 3.Specific travel search engines.

The major players of online travel agents include:  Expedia (  Travelocity (  Orbitz ( Each one of these sites will allow you to book standard air, car, and even offer last minute travel specials.

Travel Search Engines also plays key roles in allowing customers to book travel reservations  Travel search engines offer the consumer a full range of options that no one site has access to.  Because travel search engines interact directly with the websites of the suppliers, they can find deals not available on the traditional online travel agencies.

The leaders in the travel search engine space include:  FareChase (farechase.yahoo.com)  SideStep (  Mobissimo (  Kayak ( Each will search travel suppliers directly for air, hotel, and car inventory and bring those results back for the user to view and sort.

Travel search engines present a big advantage to both the travel supplier and the traveler.  The traveler gets the advantage of finding the best pricing available  Suppliers’ sites typically do not include service fees with bookings, passing the savings onto the traveler

The internet has truly changed the way we do business in today’s market.  The travel industry is just one example.  Consumers need to be technically savvy to find the best deals and the best prices for themselves and/or their businesses.

ENJOY YOUR TRAVEL ADVENTURES!