Pre and Post Internet Trips

Pre-Internet Travel:

I have been traveling for over 40 years – in my early days boots on the Scouts came a Lambretta and then my first old banger followed by newer old bangers to the Costa Brava beaches.

My thumb, boots, bikes and bangers took me all over Europe and the UK before I discovered that a charter flight to Spain in an old ‘Connie’ could get me to the beaches and bars much quicker and give me more time to enjoy the ride. local. opportunities by horse and cart and the occasional bus and train.

‘Go West and Prosper’ seemed like a good idea, so instead of taking an 8 hour flight, I took an 8 day transatlantic crossing from Tilbury to Montreal on Polish Ocean Lines’ Stephan Batory to make sure the jet lag didn’t It will affect my travel plans. Some years later I crossed the pond again on a boat but this time it was 5 times bigger and I traveled in style on the QE2 and dined at the Queen’s Grill a far cry from my previous experience. I highly recommend sea travel, but I don’t see myself on one of the modern cruise ships going from port to port with constant lines getting on and off for t-shirts. However, I have done 10 Windjammers and a Star Clipper cruise in the Caribbean, all memorable (hopefully Windjammer Barefoot Cruises recovers from its problems). But I digress.

I had read that Canada is a spectacular country, from sea to shimmering sea, and my drive up the St. Lawrence River to Montreal and then west in an old Econoline van from the Great Lakes, through the prairies to the Rocky Mountains before to wrap up Whale watching off the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island was a wonderful trip for a guy from London. Today the scenery is still spectacular and the best way to go is still by road, so rent or buy a car, RV or motorbike, take the train or tour bus but remember maps, a fly fishing rod , good boots and take your time.

My favorite part of Canada/USA for adventure travel has to be Northern BC/Alaska for hiking the Chilkoot Trail in the footsteps of the 1898 gold diggers. The Northwest Territories for canoeing the Nahannie River and the Yukon to drive from Dawson City to Chicken, Alaska. If you like the great outdoors and can stomach a few bugs, cast a fly and climb some hills or drive down endless dirt roads sharing space with moose, caribou, moose, bears and eagles then these are the places to get on your list. The pleasures and experiences of driving to Inuvik on the Dempster Highway or to Prudhoe Bay on the Dalton Highway or even Canol Road can only be felt by doing them. I would have mentioned the Alaska Highway, but now it’s an easy drive unlike what was previously mentioned.

Today, the costs of driving these distances may mean carpooling is required, but riding RVs or simply riding in a van and camping is a great way to see beyond the horizon. Some on-trail adventures now require reservations in advance, whereas when I hiked Denali and Chilkoot Pass, it was just a matter of showing up, checking in at the local ranger office, and heading out. A little more advance planning is needed for today’s traveler and cost considerations for flights or long trips need to be countered somewhat with more careful planning. In the days of reasonable gas prices, I wouldn’t even consider the costs of driving or flying and have driven to Key West from the Northwest Coast, down the West Coast to Baja, and up the West Coast from New York. I once even flew my 1946 Fleet taildragger from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back using about 5 gallons per hour of avgas. Before the credit and oil crisis, I drove from Rio de Janeiro to Lima, down to Tierra del Fuego and back to Rio, covering more than 15,000 miles of spectacular scenery and not counting the cost of gas. South America should also be on your itinerary! Some other memorable trips that may now require a mortgage with the gas companies include London to The Nordkapp, Norway, Skippers Canyon in New Zealand and the solitude of Australia’s far north and the incredible coastline of Western Australia with a stop at Monkey Mia and Wave. Rock.

We tend to forget that the true cost of travel is often less today than it was during the 40 years of my travels. In 1977, my round-trip airfare from Canada to Australia was over $1,700 in 1977 dollars, so it’s much cheaper to fly today, even with airlines looking for fuel, extra baggage, no service, and no pleasure. . The ‘Big Mac’ price comparison method developed by The Economist newspaper gives us a good indicator of most spending today compared to yesterday, but my $1500 cost to get a private pilot’s license in The 1970s seem cheap compared to today, but obviously not when using this Big Mac principle. Other travel costs are also much cheaper today, but this shouldn’t mean that travelers should ignore the many ways to save money. costs that can then be put towards enhanced or extended travel experiences.

Post-Internet Travel:

In my 40 years of travel, I’ve had to use travel agents to make even the simplest reservations and buy tickets, without even thinking to ask them if they had “been there, done that.” It was just a case of there being no other options to buy rides. We now have unlimited options and can search for the best travel agents, best prices, best selections and information about anywhere in the world for our trips, without even leaving home.

The Internet now gives travelers ideas and options on where to go, when to go, why to go, what to do, who to book with, and how to save money and offset costs. We can search and find experts for each travel option. If we are comfortable with the Internet, we no longer have to go to a travel agency to make reservations and buy tickets, except to book with some of the largest travel companies that still produce glossy brochures and offer all-inclusive packages or tours that they are only sold through the agency system. The Internet also allows those of us who are smart enough to know when to look for a top travel agent with knowledge, experience and expertise (KEE skills) of destinations and activities on where to find them. It is no longer necessary to only use our local agents when we can find one in another part of the world. When we don’t need ‘the knowledge’ and can do it ourselves, we simply surf the web so we can book direct with tour and travel operators wherever we have decided to go.

Some travel agents operate their own tours, some are wholesalers and retailers, some limit consumer selection by selling only to their ‘preferred’ suppliers and some have professional consultants with years of experience invested in gaining knowledge, expertise and experience and they are worth their weight. in gold for the savvy traveler. Be careful though, as some are also called Destination Specialists and some of these designations simply require the agent to take a rudimentary test offered by tourist boards, destination marketing groups or even tour operators and in In my opinion, it can damage the reputation of the travel industry. A specialist is not necessarily an expert.

Travel is probably the most used business aspect of the internet and if retailers want to take advantage of this exciting medium to offer ‘the knowledge’ and their ‘kee’ skills to a global audience, not just their local community, they need to embrace the changes that are happening Travelers now have the ability to search for answers to the 5 W’s of travel and the all-important ‘How’ to save money and offset costs by having information just a click away.

And then it occurred to me that even Internet travel prices often include an element of commission, even when sold directly to the consumer. If we book directly with the operators we should not have to pay full retail prices as we are doing for ourselves what a retail agent would normally do for us. One dilemma for the operator is that displaying a retail price and cost option could deter many agents from selling the services, as travelers could use an agent to get free advice and book directly with the operator to get a “net” price. of commission”. . Obviously, this two-tier pricing isn’t often available, but travelers who don’t need advice shouldn’t be penalized by retail prices either. A new path had to be found and I think I have found it!

The need for fairer fare pricing is why I developed the Top Travel Voucher program at The Top Travel Club and even found a dot com for it. All travel selections on the site are at ‘net of commission’ prices for members who manage their own travel arrangements directly with the operators linked on the club website using our voucher program.

I invite travel operators from around the world to join this program, from B&Bs, motels, hotels, luxury cabins, eco resorts, beach resorts, and adventure travel operators who wish to promote their products and services to travelers who they are comfortable with direct bookings. and reservations.

I also invite travel agents with knowledge, experience and expertise in destinations and activities to showcase their skills to a global audience of travelers and members of this new travel club. I am wary of ‘specialist agents’ and only want experts to show off their services.

This opportunity is available to travel merchants at no cost, except for them to offer net, wholesale or point of sale prices to club members and website visitors using the best travel coupons. I believe this program offers fairer rates to travelers who book direct. The operator would normally be paying a commission anyway, but now travelers get the savings because they make their own arrangements.

The Top Travel Club was launched in mid-April 2008 and offers thousands of the best travel vouchers for travel in more than 70 countries with around 150 travel operators on board. Every week we add more tour operators with more options for members. Currently, you can get savings on lodging, adventure travel, boat rentals, culinary tours, walking, biking and diving tours, car and RV rentals, lodges and fishing guides, safaris, vacation rentals, individual travel , only for women and ranches for tourists. Members get the coupons for free by paying an annual membership fee and non-members can purchase the coupons online at top travel sites at prices greatly reduced from face value. Future growth will include restaurants, travel apparel, travel insurance, and the opportunity to access airline ticket consolidators who want to deal directly with consumers.

The way I have traveled and the way I see travel is that consumers should have unlimited access to every travel opportunity with the ability to do their own due diligence or find a professional who can offer quality advice and services at fair prices. , and find all of this without the need for endless hours of searching.

For more information on the new way to offset costs to travel, visit The Top Travel Club and my apologies for the spelling (traveler / traveler), but that’s what I was taught. As long as we all understand the meaning, long live the difference!