How a Travel Agent can Save you Money on your Next Trip
How a Travel Agent can Save you Money on your Next Trip
These days, many families have their put their vacation plans toward the bottom of their list of priorities. During tougher times, a vacation can seem to simply cost too much money. However, if you are thinking about going on a vacation, you might want to look into working with a travel agent to save money on vacation expenses. Working with a travel agent to plan your vacation means you might be able to afford the trip you thought you would have to put off until next year. For this reason alone it is definitely worth exploring the possibility. So how can working with a travel agent save you money?
Your travel agent will help you get the most out of your budget
Whether your travel budget is 0 or ,000, working with a travel agent is probably the best way to make the most of your money. Especially if you’re traveling on a tight budget, the skills, knowledge, and experience of a travel agent can be invaluable.
Just make sure when you’re discussing travel plans with your agent, you are absolutely clear about how much money you have to spend. If you want to travel as cheaply as possible, make sure your travel agent understands this so that they have a good idea of the types of travel and accommodation they should be finding for you.
Your travel agent can quickly access a number of providers
Travel agents typically have access to a large network of travel, accommodation, and activity providers. With computer systems that provide access to travel agents all over the world, they can quickly locate details of discount travel providers in many countries. This is one of the main reasons why working with a travel agent is a good idea when you’re on a strict budget. They have access to a large number of different resources, software, and industry contacts, all of which they can use when hunting down the best bargains.
Your travel agent knows the cheapest times to travel
Some days are less expensive to travel on than other days. Red-eye flights and stand-by flights can be less expensive, but direct flights can cost more than taking a circuitous route that involves several different connections. Your travel agent should be very knowledgeable on the process of all this and knows that flights booked on Friday, Sunday, and Monday are generally more expensive. You stand a better chance of saving money on flights if you’re flexible about your travel dates.
In addition, your travel agent can quickly tell you if your vacation plans fall within a peak season during which flights to your destination are significantly more expensive. This means that you can modify your travel plans if you wish. Changing plans may include a cheaper destination or traveling during the offseason to save money on your flight.
Advanced booking is another factor that your travel agent can use to help you get cheaper flights. You should be booking at least six months ahead to get the most affordable tickets. Your agent should tell you that the holiday season is always a relatively expensive time to travel, no matter how far in advance you book.
Your travel agent has access to bulk discounts and consolidated tickets
If you’re willing to travel as part of an organized tour, your travel agent can help you access travel and accommodation. There are also specials for activities that are significantly cheaper than what you would spend if you did the same activities alone. This is because as part of a tour you can take advantage of bulk discounts. You can even organize your own tour through your travel agent, and the organizer might get to travel for free!
Consolidated tickets provide you with the chance to save on your air travel costs. A consolidated ticket is simply a ticket which was purchased by the agent as part of a large group of tickets sold by the same airline. The agent gets a bulk discount on the tickets and can pass that discount on to their clients.
Your travel agent has industry contacts and experience
This translates into money being put back into your pocket. Your travel agent may be in regular contact with many industry professionals, and might be able to get you a great deal on a tour being planned by another agent. If you’re flexible with travel times, your agent may advise you to adjust your trip dates to travel during a cheaper part of the week, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars in travel costs. An experienced agent should have expert knowledge of your travel destination and can provide advice on budget accommodation and activities. The agent may often be able to provide discount coupons, free passes, and other incentives.
Best of all, none of these advantages come at a price! You can take full advantage of the wealth of knowledge and experience that your travel agent provides, and can potentially save a great deal of money in the process.
Ryan Anderson is a blogger and freelance writer who focuses on the travel industry and vacation tips, often discussing a particular aspect of the travel industry such as working with travel agents.
Benefits of Choosing a Travel Agency for Your Next Vacation
Benefits of Choosing a Travel Agency for Your Next Vacation
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Choosing a travel agency to handle your next vacation as opposed to dealing directly with an airline presents numerous benefits. Here are a few of the benefits you enjoy:
Wealth of information
Because of their experience and wide connections with people in the hospitality industry, travel agencies are in the best position to provide sound advice when it comes to the following points: off peak and peak travel times, budget travel, hotel and meal deals, excursions, shopping bargains, and other tourism-related topics. Much will depend on your preferences. For instance, are you interested in a golf holiday, a fishing trip, a museum jaunt or a spa type of vacation?
Discounted fares
Travel agencies and online travel agencies are great for bargain hunting and usually get the best deals from their network of contacts. They also purchase air tickets on volume, consolidated tickets, enabling them to buy air tickets at considerably higher discounts.
Extended network of suppliers and providers
Given that travel agents deal every day with hotel managers, restaurant owners and managers, bed and breakfast supervisors, tour operators, limousine companies, and other people who offer a specialized service, they know who and what are offering better prices and when. So travel agents have a wealth of information on just about anything related to travel, and because they network with other travel agents, they get to exchange valuable tips. Consider yourself fortunate if you happen to be dealing with a travel agent who seems to know âjust about everyoneâ in the travel industry and who can offer you the discounts that she reserves for preferred clients.
Group discounts
If you tell your travel agent that you and your friends want to travel together or that youâre taking your family of four on a Kenyan safari, he or she might be able to slash off more dollars from your air tickets because you will be travelling in a group. Sometimes, when you buy three adult tickets, travel agents will let your four-year-old travel for free or at a much lower price. Travel agents can, at their discretion, extend courtesy discounts to groups. The more seats are bought and the more rooms are booked, the higher the discounts they receive.
Perks
Travel agents also have access to suppliers and service providers who hand out âbonusesâ or perks. These are the nice extra incentives that say, hotel managers would give to agents so that the next time the travel agency has a large group of travelers, they choose the same hotel. Meal vouchers are another example that travel agencies have a constant supply of to give to loyal customers. For example, if you and your friends like to visit Las Vegas a lot, your travel agency may give you slot chips worth .00 to use on machines, or free passes to a stage show or concert. So you see, it does pay to develop good relationships with travel agencies especially if youâre a frequent traveler.
Specialization
Some travel agencies specialize in certain types of travel and cater to a certain age group or specific professional groups. Some travel agencies have more strengths and capabilities than other travel agencies. One travel agency may know the ins and outs of Eastern Europe or may know what the best budget restaurants in Tokyo are. Other travel agencies may cater specifically to retirees, students or government officials.
When a travel agency handles a large account like a mid-size company whose executives travel weekly, you can be sure that travel agency is in a position to offer significant savings on plane tickets or hotel reservations. If you have a friend who works for a large company and his company uses one travel agency, you could ask him to request the travel agency for special deals. Because travel agents are grateful for the continuing patronage of their company clients, they will most likely share tips on how to travel on a shoestring budget for the executivesâ children.
Donât let one unfortunate experience with a travel agency discourage you. Find another. If you deal with the airlines directly, youâre just another caller to them, whereas if a travel agent calls the airline on your behalf, the airline will recognize the travel agency as a regular customer and hence would be more inclined to extend courtesies.
What you need to do before calling a travel agency is to decide:
· Specific travel dates
· Where you want to go, where you want to stay and whether youâll need a car or rail passes
· If youâre willing to travel on a restricted ticket or as a standby passenger
· What activities youâd like to do once you arrive in your destination
By giving your travel agency complete information, she can be more efficient in helping you plan your next vacation.
Suzanne Bradley is a freelance writer who writes about the travel industry discussing tips and offering suggestions about working with a travel agency.
Don’t Cut Back on Travel Insurance on Your Next Trip
Don’t Cut Back on Travel Insurance on Your Next Trip
With the credit crunch at the moment many people are finding that their money isnât stretching as far as it has done in recent years, more and more people are cutting back spending in most areas especially in the amount of money they are borrowing on credit cards and loans.
One area Brits are reluctant to compromise though is their summer breaks, our annual holiday taken normally when the kids are out of school in July or August. It would seem that the current financial crisis is not putting people off escaping to the sun soaked shores of the Mediterranean or somewhere sharing a similar climate.
The only worry that many analysts and observers have is that many people may be that desperate to cut down on costs that it wonât stop at multi-stop cheaper flights but spread to travel insurance, and by that they mean travellers may ignore it and save a few pounds by travelling uninsured.
The trouble is that itâs a false saving considering that there are many ways in which your holiday could go wrong or cost more than expected, flights can get cancelled, injuries can occur, holidays can be cut short for all manner of reasons. Should you travel without adequate travel insurance then you could end up footing the bill for hefty medical costs or paying for hotel stays despite being stuck at home with a cancelled flight.
insurance can cover such unexpected costs and with medical bills sometimes costing well into the thousands of pounds on a skiing holiday or getting yourself transferred from a foreign hospital back to the UK it quickly becomes apparent that travel insurance cover is needed if you want your holiday to go without punishment if something were to go wrong.
Considering how there are cheap travel insurance options for both one off trips as well as annual cover for multiple trips thereâs really no excuse when it comes to travelling. The added cover is especially popular with families with younger children as they will obviously be wanting every assurance their family is safe on holiday.
These are the people who analysts fear are going to cut back on costs like travel insurance cover and so now more than ever people who want to spend less on holiday are being urged to make sure they have travel insurance cover to prevent possible higher travelling costs.
Andy Adams is an IT worker and experienced writer
(Really crappy video quality here. Take a look there instead: www.vimeo.com ) A little sample of it’s sound, taken from my canon G9 cam, compared to the sound from a cheap microphone and then a little bit of fun with GarageBand (Ilife 09). Please note, this is not fancy playing, just a bit of fun.
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So You Get the Cheap Travel to Mexico, What’s Next…
So You Get the Cheap Travel to Mexico, What’s Next…
You finally received your tickets to Mexico at the cheapest price. You did it by researching and taking your time comparing and eliminating online and offline travel companies and agent one by one. You also got your desired hotel accommodation and itineraries that did not cost so much. Now, while you are packing your things and make your way to the airport, here are some of the things and necessary advises you should know before entry, upon entry, and while at the Mexico:
Before you leave, you should have with you a photo I.D. such as passport and driver’s license, your tourist card, and your proof of citizenship. Bringing a photo I.D. would save you a lot of trouble when you check in on the airport. It would make sure that your ticket and your identity match.
The tourist card is your gate pass to Mexico. It is given free of charge but should be surrendered when you leave the country. You can get it from your airline when you check-in or in the Mexican Immigration when you arrive the country. You must not lose it and must be included at your travel document. Loosing this card is not pretty good thing to happen but if it does, make sure you have copied the number. This would make the trouble a lot easier to deal with.
Proof of citizenship should be your birth certificate. If you are a married woman and posses a driver’s license of your maiden name, be sure to bring your birth certificate to match the license.
Upon arrival, go directly to the Mexican Immigration. Here, your tourist card is validated and proof of citizenship is inspected. You must sign and accomplish the customs declaration form. You should know what to declare and what are allowable to bring in the country. If you failed to declare any item that are not allowed you will be penalized.
Here are some of the allowable items you can bring; toiletries, footwear, and clothing that is in relation to your trip duration, reading material (magazine and books), used sports equipment, one VCR, one camera, one movie camera, films (up to 12 rolls), 3L of wine or alcohol (18 years up and up), 50 cigars or 400 cigarettes (18 years old and up), musical instrument, portable TV, and medicines with prescription.
While at Mexico you should obey the rules. If you plan to rent a car, there are lots of car rental companies in the country. It you are on a tight budget, rent a car before you arrive. Rental companies offer cheap rate if you reserve early. When you get involved in an accident, do not leave the place nor make any arrangements to other people. Contact your rental company for assistance. Do not argue.
Bring the right amount of money for the day. Although Mexico uses their Peso, most business establishments accept US dollars. But peso would still give you better price. Wear comfortable clothes, Mexico is typically warm during summer and a bit cold during winter. But it still depends of your location that depends on the altitude.
When dining, make sure you drink only bottled water. Wash the fruits first before eating. Peel if necessary.
When traveling by bus, take the first class rather than the second class. First class is air-conditioned with slight price difference with the second.
These are some of the things you need to know when you travel to Mexico. And to enjoy more your whole visit in the country: stay safe!
S. Stammberger is the owner of International Travel Comp. Your Budget Travel Guide to Cheap Travel.
www.m3dht.com ~ skype me gessner40, email me: gessner40@comcast.net or call me @ 717-333-9076 Discount Travel membership. Enjoy a 4day/3night Vacation Deal from a worldwide list of resorts and luxury hotels. Cheap Travel Deals and Vacation Packages. And a brilliant home based business…
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Obtain Cheap Travel Insurance for Your Next Trip
Obtain Cheap Travel Insurance for Your Next Trip
When you plan to travel abroad nowadays, you might be totally surprised how abundant cheap travel deals are being offered both online and offline. That is, if you haven’t contacted your travel agents lately or if you have been hibernating in your own country for years or simply don’t feel the need for traveling. Anyway, the bottom line is that traveling abroad today is not very expensive as it was before.
Surely, it can be the reason for a celebration. But before you start contacting your travel agents for a quick booking of your trip, you have to realize that when travel is being offered at cheap prices, more and more people are traveling. And when people travel, it increases the risk for people getting involved in an accident. It should not be a problem if these traveling population buy travel insurance to protect them in case things would not go as planned. But the bad news is, travel insurance is neglected – the very reason why people lose their appetite for traveling in case something happen.
Normally, when people talk about travel insurance, they are speaking about wings falling off in mid air or plane unable to properly secure its landing gear. Although these kinds of scenarios are possible during travel and need to be taken into consideration for buying travel insurance, there are more minor incidents where you need to be prepared with and be covered like trip cancellation, trip interruption or delay, medical emergencies including doctor’s fee, hospitalization, and emergency evacuation, and property damages and losses.
In addition, the general perception of the travelers with travel insurance is that it is expensive. This causes travel insurance to loose its appeal to travelers. But this thing would stop because like travel fares becoming cheap, insurance are getting the right price it deserves.
And to know more on how to maximize you trip while providing you with peace of mind here’s how to get cheap travel insurance you need:
1. Check online for your cheap travel insurance. Usually, the Internet has more to offer when you are looking for cheap travel insurance. One great advantage of searching here is that you can compare instantly the quotes, different cheap travel insurance sites offer. You can check all the available coverage and single out your best choice. With a little time and work, getting cheap travel insurance is not a hard task.
2. Avoid buying cheap travel insurance directly to travel agents. Instead buy it directly from insurance company. Since travel agents earn big commissions, the cheap travel insurance you though was cheap, it not cheap at all. One more point: you can get travel insurance from travel agents twice as high compared to travel insurance companies.
3. Check your existing insurance. Usually, your home insurance would cover your trips abroad. If it does, identify the coverage you need to have that is not included in your existing insurance. This would give save you a lot.
4. Ask for the cheapest rates. Oftentimes, people tend to settle for the insurance that is suggested by the representative of the company. To get the cheapest rates, all you have to do is ask for it, chances are it would be given to you.
These are some of the best ways you can do if you are shopping for cheap travel insurance. But of course, there is no better way to save is to be careful all the time.
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The Vision of Next Gen
The Vision of NextGen This video, produced by the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), shows what future air travel might look like. NextGen, or, the Next Generation Air Transportation System. NASA and its fellow members of the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) are creating NextGen by the year 2025 (“MMXXV”) to manage increasing air traffic safely and efficiently while reducing its impact on the environment. This JPDO video shows a future aircraft with its wings blended into its body moving cleanly through the sky. It also shows future options for directing air traffic into and out of airports that are more customized to aircraft trajectories.
Video Rating: 4 / 5