Travel agents, fewer in number, say business on uptick

Survivors of challenging decade focus on business, group, niche travel

Whether they're planning to travel to Italy, Tibet or Argentina, Larry and Bonnie Ohler call Lynda Maxwell first.

Maxwell, the owner of Destinations Inc. travel agency, has been helping the Ellicott City couple plan vacations for years — booking tours, coordinating airport pickups, finding hotels and handling a myriad of other details. The Ohlers say they sometimes book parts of trips themselves, but not without Maxwell orchestrating it all from her office in Ellicott City.

"We like the comfort of knowing someone who knows what they're doing is working for us," said Bonnie Ohler, who is retired.

Besides, added Larry, an accountant: "I can never ever get really final answers online."

To some, they might seem relics of another era. And to be sure, the industry has struggled through what has likely been its most challenging decade yet, from the rise of the Internet and consumer-friendly websites such as Travelocity and Expedia through the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to the elimination of airline commissions and the recession.

But those travel agents who have survived — many by focusing on business, group and niche travelers — say demand for their services is on the rise.

"What you might hear is that travel agencies are dead, and oftentimes people think that," said Jay Ellenby, president and chief executive officer of Safe Harbors Travel Group, a Baltimore agency. "We're far from it, though the industry has decreased significantly. But we often find ourselves reinventing ourselves."

Agents and industry analysts say a growing number of consumers are relying on professionals to wade through information, sort out conflicting price offers, plan customized travel, keep abreast of changing conditions and even step in as intermediaries when trips go wrong.

"The trend has been people are going back to travel professionals because you can't always believe the pictures you see online," said Denver agency owner Chris Russo, president of the American Society of Travel Agents. "It's gone hand-in-hand with the economy. People are a little more cautious. In a bad economy, people want to make sure their money is in a good place."

After struggling through a recession that cut into both business and leisure travel, agents nationwide say they're starting to see an uptick in business — thanks in part to pent-up demand.

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