Travel Agents On-Line

In 1841, Thomas Cook, pioneer of the package holiday, organised an outing by train from Leicester to Loughborough for supporters of temperance in Victorian England. He advertised the trip, despatched invitations and sold the tickets.

Today Thomas Cook, the German-owned travel agency which bears his name, faces a technological revolution which threatens to sweep it and many other companies away. The growth of online booking services and the development of interactive television could, at least theoretically, eliminate the role of the travel agent altogether.

Users can bypass the travel agent and book direct from suppliers, says Mr Barrie Barnes of Philips Electronics, which last year started manufacturing set-top boxes enabling users to access the internet via their television.

 

Datamonitor, the management consultancy, forecasts that the value of travel booked online in the UK alone will increase from less than