'This latest crisis shows the true value of agents'

There’s no denying the impact Covid-19 is having on the travel sector, and not just for those due to visit affected destinations, but on forward bookings too. In a TTG poll, 90% of respondents said clients had been asking questions about the virus, while just 2% said they hadn’t seen any impact and weren’t concerned. (See full poll results here).

Westoe Travel’s Graeme Brett has revealed 85% of incoming phone calls last week were from clients already booked, but worried about the impact of coronavirus. Meanwhile, Barrhead Travel’s dedicated crisis team has been “working round the clock” to support clients and branches.

As ever, this crisis highlights just why agents remain so vital to the sector. “It shows the reassurance you get from using a travel agent,” says Brett, pointing out there is “a lot of misleading information”.