Travel agents sent packing

The death of the travel agent came a step nearer yesterday when figures revealed most tourists now prefer to go it alone.

Budget airlines and the Internet have seen a boom in DIY holidays, where travellers organise their own flights, accommodation and extras separately, often at a cheaper rate.

Direct bookings - where travellers book straight from the brochure - rose by ten per cent in the past year.

They now make up 54 per cent of sales and could spell the end for smaller high street travel agencies, some experts fear. Budget airline Ryanair now sells 95 per cent of its 24million flights a year online.

In addition, a third of British travellers use the Internet to research or book trips, researchers at IPK International told industry journal Travel Trade Gazette.

IPK president Rolf Freitag said: 'It is quite clear that people now want more holidays for less money.'

Travel agents were also faced with the problem of having spare rooms

BY STEPHEN HULL in many resorts - which nevertheless continued to expand. The empty rooms were blamed on factors such as SARS and the Iraq War.

The Association of British Travel Agents denied the traditional agent was dying out, saying many already had their own websites to deal with Internet demand.

Many customers would always welcome dealing with someone face-to-face who could answer any questions immediately, an ABTA spokesman said.