Associate Professor Dr. Aimi Zulhazmi, Economic Analyst; claims that a travel agency could be a great help for cost-cutting, especially when you're traveling in a group with friends or families. Dr. Aimi also highlighted a few points about the advantages of traveling with an agency compared to traveling without a travel agency (Travel DIY).
Budgeting and planning are the main things when it comes to travel. However, most Malaysians aren't able to prepare a good budget and planning due to work commitments, busy schedules, and also lack of knowledge about travel destinations they want to explore.
Studies show that Malaysians prefer to travel with a travel agency to get assistance on travel itineraries and budgeting. Assoc. Professor Dr. Aimi Zulhazmi highlighted a few points on why traveling with a travel agency is better.
Reason #1 - Cost- Cutting Package Deals
The first reason why Malaysians prefer to travel with a travel agency is because travel agencies often offer package deals that include flights, accommodations, transportation, and sometimes additional activities. Agencies provide convenience and savings as they help to personalise your travel by referring to your travel budget and style. For example, Sedunia Travel helps their clients to customise their travel itinerary according to their budget, interest, and preferences. They're also "Flexible Independent Travel (F.I.T)" agency where the travel itinerary is custom-built for travellers personally.
Reason #2 - Negotiated Rates
Travel agencies may have access to negotiated rates with airlines, hotels, and other service providers. This can result in potential cost saving compared to booking each component individually. For example, Sedunia Travel always offers reasonable flight tickets to almost 100 countries and destinations because they have negotiated rates with prominent airlines, such as Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air Asia, Emirates and more.
"Travel agencies minimise risk when travelling. Besides, no hidden costs because the budget is clear...." – Assc. Prof. Dr. Aimi Zulhazmi, Economic Analyst
Reason #3 - Discounts and Deals
Travel agencies have access to exclusive discounts and deals, which can make their offering more appealing from a cost perspective. You may not be able to access to certain discount rate because there are tourism bodies/partners that only give this privilege to their tourism partners and agencies. Travel agencies offered better discounted deals than what you can find on your own. For example, Sedunia Travel partnered with Belmond, Ponant, Princess Cruise, Celestyal Cruise, Cosmos, Club Med, Globus, Rocky Mountaineer, Avalon Waterways, Aman Resorts, Orient Silk Road Express, Rovos Rail, and more.
Reason #4 - Security and Risk Management
Natural disaster is a type of emergency that we can't predict, especially when you're traveling. That is why travel agencies always encourage travellers to be well informed about their travel itinerary so that agencies can prepare and take action for any emergencies. In terms of security, travel agencies could provide shelter, quick-action as well as assistance if a natural disaster happens. However, the situation might be different if you're traveling on your own without arrangements from travel agencies. If a natural disaster happens you might end up stranded without proper risk management. Hence, that is why Malaysians nowadays prefer traveling with a travel agency to avoid unwanted causes of events.
Reason #5 - Cost-Efficiency and Flexibility in Pricing
Before, people believed that doing personal budgeting for traveling was cost-saving. However, nowadays, Malaysians believe that traveling with travel agencies offers cost-efficiency and flexibility in pricing. In addition, doing personal budgeting is more risky because you may not know the currency rate, entrance fees, or taxes applied. Consequently, many couldn't track their expenses or even ended up spending more money when traveling. However, the situation is different when traveling with agencies. For example, Sedunia Travel would help to list down all budgets included for a certain trip without hidden costs. There, you can adjust based on your travel style and budget accordingly.
Conclusion - Traveling Require Proper Budgeting and Planning
Assc. Prof Aimi Zulhazmi himself would prefer traveling with an agency, especially for family holidays. It's cost-efficient and flexible. For More Details about F.I.T visit https://seduniatravel.com