Mark Murphy, Co-Founder
and President/CEO
T
he trend is your friend. It’s a saying that is apropos for today’s travel industry, as well as its primary
distribution channel—travel agents. Baby boomers—who have driven every significant economic shift
since they were born—are now unleashing the greatest boom in history for the travel industry. The
members of this generation, who drove the consumer goods market as they collected possessions, are now
collecting experiences. These experiences, of course, are what travel is all about and a key reason why our
industry will be one of the greatest beneficiaries of this shift…and it’s not just limited to baby boomers!
Travel agents will play a significant role in the great boom in travel ahead.
“…finding a travel agent
The consumer media, from magazines to television, are finally recogniz-
who is knowledgeable
ing the valuable role that agents are playing in the consumer’s ability
and takes the burden
to navigate a landscape littered with millions of travel choices. It wasn’t
that long ago that many of these same outlets were predicting their
off the customer is more
demise, although, admittedly, some have always touted the value of a
valuable than ever.”
well-informed and well-connected travel agent.
– Henry Harteveldt, Forrester Research,
as told to the New York Times
Indeed, as more and more travel information becomes available at the
July 3, 2007
touch of a button or the click of a remote, the value of a travel agent
increases. Call it information overload in a market where the average consumer is exposed to more than
3,000 advertising messages in a single day, up from 1,500 per day 40 years ago. According to the American
Association of Advertising Agencies, the number of messages we can take in is still less than 100 per day.
Couple that with the sheer number of results generated by a travel-related search on Google and you’ll
see why consumers are increasingly turning to, and being influenced more by, travel agents.
Overall travel agent influence on consumer travel selections is up more than eight percent, with some
categories seeing agent influence doubling over the past six years. Consumers are flocking to travel agents
for their advice, guidance and general customer service. And suppliers and destinations that recognize this
trend will be rewarded handsomely in the years to come.
PMG | 4
PMG-brochure_modem.indd 4 8/3/07 12:39:36 PM
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32