For the last several years I have been watching the change in the tourism industry as we know it. The traditional 'brick & morter' agency is gradually becoming a 'past tense' .... and the internet has opened up a means of finding information and communication that knows no international boundries.

But nothing will ever subsitute 'local knowledge' ... if that knowledge is given in a responsible and fair manner.

Unfortunately we have to make a living at what we do ... and the internet has created a misconception that anyone can 'surf' to anywhere .... book their own arrangements ... and cut out these greedy middleman travel agents. This happens to us daily ... travelers trying to book a trip themselves without advise ... trying to cover an entire continent or country in 7 days without realizing the actual size of the counties involved ... the cultural and language differences ... and the timing involved for varios activities.

-- Capt. Donald R. Reid (dreid@andetur.com), October 03, 2000

Answers

What about creating a multilingual helpdesk, so misguided travelers have a place to cry their brains out if things go wrong. If you set it up as a seperate entity from the Brick & Morter concept you could capture those travelers. Given the fact that dot.coms are dropping dead by the speed of light, here's a way to demonstrate the power of the travel professional. using the same advanced technology the dot coms are doing this technically feasible.

-- Ben Koot (ben@travelcompass.net), October 03, 2000.