Organizations in the Distribution Process - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 157

Travel agents love sending clients on cruise vacations because they come back as satis ed customers.
Cruise vacations have one of the highest satisfaction ratings of all vacation types. Photocourtesy
ofCarnivalCruiseLines.

Despite the many predictions that the travel agent would disappear, the species is alive and will
continue to adapt to the changing marketplace and survive as long as they offer a service that is valued
by clients. There will be further consolidation driven by the economics of this business.
It is also increasingly clear that agents will morph into sellers of more leisure travel services.
Furthermore, their product mix will grow to favor more transactions, such

as bookings for tours, cruises, honeymoons, and all-inclusives, as the Internet becomes the preferred
choice for

'' complex '' and '' high-risk ''

transactions, such as point-to-point airline tickets or a hotel room
for two nights. Agents will continue to be the preferred choice of many af uent and international
travelers because of the complexity associated with planning travel outside of the United States.

'' simple '' and '' low-risk ''

Travel Agency Organizations

The American Society of Travel Agents is the largest association of travel and tourism professionals in
the world, with 20,000 members located in over 140 countries. Established in 1931, ASTA continues to
serve the best interests of the travel industry and the traveling public. ASTA's purposes are:

To promote and encourage travel among people of all nations

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To promote the image and encourage the use of professional travel agents worldwide

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To promote and represent the views and interests of travel agents to all levels of government and
industry

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To promote professional and ethical conduct in the travel agency industry worldwide

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To serve as an information resource for the industry worldwide

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