Lazy Gen Z lead revival of the travel agents

Telegraph

23-02-2025

Gen Z are leading a revival of the high street travel agent because they regard booking a holiday via an app or website as too time-consuming, the boss of TUI has said.
Sebastian Ebel, the chief executive of the travel giant, said younger people are also increasingly searching for authenticity when booking their getaway, something which can be a risk when researching holidays on social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok.
He said: 'We're seeing them [young people] turn back to the shop. They want to have an extra half hour for gaming instead of looking through the internet.
'It was a surprise to me. I found out from my kids when they told me they had booked through a travel agency.
'I thought, you are digital natives, what have you done? They said why should we spend all our time searching for the right thing? I want to hand over the problem to someone else.'
Mr Ebell said that he initially found the trend 'weird', although he admitted that he sometimes mixed up bookings himself and that 'outsourcing it to someone makes sense'.
He said: 'Very often young people will phone the shop and say I need this, and then for the decision they will go there.
'The main question they ask is, is it a good hotel? Or I want to do my yoga classes, which hotel can you recommend?'
Traditional travel agents have struggled in recent years to cater to the demands of younger holidaymakers who have been choosing to book direct.
Club 18-30, which provided notoriously raucous breaks for a younger clientele in Mediterranean resorts, disappeared in 2018 along with parent Thomas Cook, while STA, which arranged packages tours for younger people specialising in more adventurous itineraries, fell victim to Covid, going bust in 2020.
However, since foreign travel resumed during the pandemic, packages have become more popular generally because of the security they offer over refunds compared with flight-only deals.
TUI, the world's largest tour operator, counts Britain as its largest market, with about half of bookings coming from travel agents.
While most come from the 330 UK shops it owns directly, a significant chunk are provided by a network of third-party agents built up in response to the rebound in demand for in-person sales.
The ubiquity of the grinning selfie and a reluctance to admit on social media that a holiday has been a flop has made it tougher for Gen Z to identify the options they will most enjoy.
Falling back on an agent who may have visited a destination or can advise on a cheaper travel date or airport option helps provide a safety net, said Peter Krueger, of TUI.
Mr Krueger said that while young people are still seeking online inspiration, mainly from TikTok but also via ChatGPT, they worry about the authenticity of what they are booking.
He said: 'We all know about fake news and pictures which are faked. We can guarantee that what you do see, you will get.'
TUI's executives spoke as it launched an initiative to attract more people to its app by selling excursions and events not just to holidaymakers but to locals.
The company will initially offer 350 such experiences at 40 locations including the London Aquarium and the Warner Bros Harry Potter tour, in conjunction with entertainment booking service Fever.
Mr Ebel said a weakness in UK holiday bookings that led TUI shares to tumble earlier this month has eased and that the level of demand is now 'looking OK.'
He added demand is expected to remain resilient as the impact of Labour's tax rises filter through to the wider economy, though holidaymakers may be forced to modify their travel habits somewhat, taking slightly shorter breaks or opting for cheaper resorts.
TUI has modified its priciest long-haul offerings accordingly, cutting flights from London to Costa Rica and St. Lucia and adding a service from Belfast to the Dominican Republic, regarded as an entry-level destination for the Caribbean.
Thailand is also gaining in popularity thanks to a favourable exchange rate, while Egypt and Cape Verde, less far-flung but still regarded as exotic, are also expected to benefit.