What is the Best Travel Agency - Ultimate Guide for Travelers

In this busy world, people must travel from one country to another. Some people had to travel for official work reasons, and some wanted to go on vacation. Also, some people want to study from one country to another. They may need help with airline flights, car rentals, hotel booking, cruise lines, and other travel packages for this visiting issue. If you are one of them, then this article will help you. From this article, you will learn what is the best travel agency, the Top travel agencies in the world, the Types of travel agencies and many more.

Also, this article will help you find the best travel agency to work for. So, why are you waiting? Let’s get started!

Basic Definition of Travel Agency

When you are about to visit abroad for any reason, you may search online for the best travel agency in the world. But many people do not know about travel agencies. And for this reason, they may face many problems while planning to go to another country. 

A travel agency is a public or private retailer providing travel and tourism-related services. This service is provided to the general public by accommodation or travel suppliers. In addition, Travel agency services offer different kinds of travel packages for each destination. And that is the meaning of Travel Agency. 

There are many travelers in the whole world, and their number is increasing day by day. And for this reason, the travel agency plays a good role. Travelers get help from travel agencies such as booking hotels, air tickets, bus tickets, and many more. 

When was the Travel Agency Established

There is an amazing history of this travel agency business. This business was first established in 1845 by Thomas Cook In England.

There was a term of travel that is, the term travel trading dates back from the ages of the 19th century. But this should not in doubt the fact that what we today describe as travel trade, was taking place much earlier in history.

If we look at the history, there was a middleman who used to help the marchants traveling for trading.

In 1841, a blessed day came in the history of travel trade when Thomas Cook, working as secretary of South Midland Temperance Association. He arranged a trip by a train for 570 members for his association.In addition, He bought a bulk amount of railway tickets just for selling it to people.

This was a nice experiment by Thomas Cook. And this experiment was successful and everybody was very happy. Though Thomas Cook had done his job on a no-profit basis. But, fortuitously, It gave him a new idea and turned it into a tour business. And this is the way how the travel agency business has been established.

Types of Travel Agencies

Based on the best solo travel companies and corporate travel agencies, 7 types of travel agencies exist worldwide. 

• Offline Travel Agency.

Offline Travel agencies include corporate travel departments operating from "brick and mortar" offices. This means that they have physical offices rather than operate as an online travel agency with only a website.

• Online Travel Agency.

Online Travel Agency (OTA) means any Travel Agency whose primary business is operating one or more publicly accessible Online Channels to provide travel services.

• Wholesale Travel Agency.

The whole travel agency gathered the package holiday tickets and sold them to the clients through retail travel agencies. The types of packages are air tickets, accommodations, and many other services also included. 

• Business Travel Agency.

Business travel agencies, which are also known as travel management companies. This agency usually provides travel-related services with discounts and perks. These discounts can be adjusted to meet the company's duty of care and travel policy for business travelers.

• Leisure Travel Agency.

A leisure travel agency usually works on arranging travel itineraries, customizing tour packages, arranging local tours and activities, and booking hotels. That is all based on their customer's budgets and interests. 

• Niche Travel Agency.

Niche Travel agency or tourism means customizing tourism products to meet the customer's needs. Some categories are popular and can be used as examples, such as agritourism, ecotourism, cultural tourism, cruise tourism, etc. 

• Retail Travel Agency.

A retail travel agency is responsible for selling the tourists' products directly to the public or customers through the product suppliers. In return, they get a certain amount of commissions.

What is The Best Travel Agency - Exciting Features

You may find the best host agency for travel agents. But when you choose the best travel agency, you should know their features. However, it would be best to research the travel agency website more because all the features appear there. In addition, the best travel agencies always have unique travel websites. As people are comfortable looking for information online, travel agencies are focused on the websites and provide a lot of information. 

So let's see the travel agency's significant features and their website features below:

Major Features:

• Customer service.
• Availability of booking by software.
• Multilingual Support.
• Payment Flexibility.
• Reservation Management.
• Tour Packaging.
• Scalability and Flexibility.
• Responsive Filters.
• Security and Privacy.
• Multiple Payment Options.
• Marketing Sales.
• Financial Management.
• Supplier Relationship Management.
• Legal Compliance.
• Product Development.

Website Features:

Apart from knowing the significant features, the website's features of travel agencies are also essential to know. Knowing all the features lets you quickly identify the best travel agency. 

• Responsive & Mobile-Friendly Design
• Explore and sift through the various options for travel, accommodation, and bundled offers.
• Smart Booking Process.
• Mobile optimized for booking while on the go.
• Effective Payment Integration.
• Managing user accounts securely.
• Google Map Integration.
• Promotional offers that are unique incorporating social media.
• Testimonials and Customer Review.
• Options for reserving and paying online.
• Interactive management of the itinerary.
• Ratings and reviews from clients.
• 24/7 responsive client service.
• Information on locations, including maps and travel guides.

The Services They Usually Offered 

There are thousands of travel agencies available in the world. But only some agencies are excellent and trustworthy. If we give an example of Bangladesh, many Travel agencies are available. But every agency needs to be more authentic. The travel agencies depend on what kind of service they are providing. In addition, Every Travel agency has its own style of packaging system. So, business travel agents research the market and customer’s demands. 

Let’s see the services that they usually offer:

• Hotel Accommodations.
• Cruise Bookings.
• Flight Reservations.
• Car Rentals.
• Vacation Packages.
• Group Travel Planning.
• Travel Insurance.
• Bus Ticketing.
• Visa and Passport Assistance.
• Destination Expertise.
• Travel Consultations.
• Event and Conference Planning.
• Emergency Assistance.
• Specialized Travel Services.
• Online Booking Services.

So, there are different packages made based on the services given above. In addition, Each of the services is demandable based on different seasons. So, the travel agents made different categories of packages so that customers could easily choose which they preferred most.

Top 10 Online Travel Agencies(Ota) in the World

If you properly research the best travel companies, you will see that most are OTA-based because people are more available online. In addition, There will be more online tour agents in the Future. For this reason, those who want to start a travel agency business are more interested in opening travel companies online. 

You may have searched and seen many top luxury travel agencies in the world, but you should know the top online travel booking agencies apart from the other agencies. Let's check down below:

1.  Airbnb

There are a lot of tour companies available online. And Airbnb is one of them. It is a renowned online marketplace for long- and short-term homestays and experiences. This company was founded in America. In addition, This company was founded by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk in 2008. 

This Online marketplace is used to connect those people who are looking for accommodations, typically for short days.

2.  Booking.com

There is nothing to tell about this company. Booking.com is one of the world's largest and most renowned companies; when you go to online sites such as search engines, YouTube, and Facebook, you will see their ads. In addition, their company name is seen everywhere. Most people prefer to book hotels from the largest online travel and tour booking agencies.  

Moreover, they offer attractive packages that can save time and money. Using this company, you can have Big savings on homes, hotels, flights, car rentals, taxis, and attractions and build your perfect trip on any budget.

3.  Expedia

This company is mainly an American travel technology company famous among travelers. This company owns and operates meta-search engines and travel fare aggregators.

They mainly reward hotels, cars, and more experienced customer support. Also, they can manage cruise lines for the passengers.

Expedia can Operate in more than 65 countries with over 35 different languages.

4.  MakeMyTrip

In the South Asia marketplace, MakeMyTrip is famous and has a strong foothold. The reason is this company originated in India. You may ask why and how this company became famous in South Asia. Well, This online travel company offers a wide range of travel services such as hotel booking, flights, and many holiday packages. Moreover, this company has many offers which are suitable for your accommodation. These attractive offers attract domestic and international guests. 

5.  Tripadvisor

You may see TripAdvisor as a comprehensive database of traveler reviews, but it is also a renowned online travel agency. In addition, It is a powerful tour agency and has many attractive offers for restaurants, accommodations, and attractions.

Tripadvisor offers various kinds of tools for those who own property. So that the owners can manage their listings, showcase their amenities, and respond to reviews. Furthermore, TripAdvisor only charges owners a 3% commission fee. 

6.  Trivago

Trivago is another famous tour agency in South Asia. Also, it is one of the best online travel agencies. Trivago is a metasearch engine that synchronizes the Internet to find the best hotel deals for travelers. 

It gathers information about hotels and their prices from different online travel agencies, hotel chains, and booking websites.

7.  HostelWorld.com

The HostelWorld may not be familiar to a few groups of people. But those who know about it won't leave any bad reviews. It is one of the best OTA compared to the other companies. 

Hostelworld is another level of leading global OTA, which is focused on many hostel markets. This company was founded in 1999 by two entrepreneurs. One is a hostel owner, and the other is an IT executive. They planned to provide an affordable global distribution channel and hostel property management system. And then after that time, this company got famous. 

8.  Edreams

Edreams is a leading European online travel agency. It offers a variety of travel products and services for travelers looking for different options. Mainly it is famous in Europe. 

Edreams offers deals on regular and charter flights, low-cost airlines, hotels, car rentals, dynamic packages, holiday packages, and travel insurance. 

9.  Laterooms

Laterooms is a hotel reservation website now at the forefront of its development. But this company is getting famous day by day. Laterooms are mostly famous in the UK. 

It offers exclusive member prices. Moreover, this reservation website lets users find the best-discounted accommodations in the UK. 

10. GoZayaan

This company is top-rated in Bangladesh. Most people who love to travel used to visit this Traveling website. By using this website, people can book domestic and international flights on top-rated airlines. It is very safe, and people can get the lowest ticket price from this site. It is a tool for every tourism company for booking tickets. 

Conclusion

That is all about the travel and tour agency. A Travel and tour agency is where a traveler can get help regarding traveling, such as ticket booking, hotel booking, visa processing, and many more. You see that Most of the people in the world are getting busier day by day. They may have to travel from one country to another. So, they may need directions for the traveling issue. 

Furthermore, A travel booking agency can help those with little time to manage everything alone. So, they want someone who can do all the processes and make their work easier. 

So, if you are still considering starting the tourism business, there is nothing to worry about. You can start this business quickly with no suspicion. Just make sure that you are following all the rules and regulations or not. Every country has its own policy. So, you must follow the policies. After doing all these things, you can be successful in the Tourism Business.