Travel agents back in demand, following trend towards personal service in bank branches

• Agent bookings have risen to 55 per cent                                                                                            
• Figures show it's the first rise in four years
• Natural disasters may have prompted change
•  Holiday Ideas: Travel Australia                             
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THE travel industry has followed in the footsteps of banking as the latest sector, with a trend towards customers wanting increased face-to-face contact instead of just a computer.

Latest research shows the percentage of Australians booking international trips with traditional travel agents has risen for the first time in four years.

Figures show New Zealand was still the most popular destination for overseas travellers in April, followed by the US, Indonesia, Thailand, the UK and Fiji.

Roy Morgan Research showed 55 per cent of Australians used a travel agent to book their last overseas holiday or leisure trip in the year to March, up from 53 per cent in December.

But the number was still well below the 71 per cent who booked trips with travel agents in June 2007.

At the same time the percentage of people booking accommodation directly dropped slightly to 24 per cent while websites such as Wotif and Webjet were steady at 12 per cent.

A third of Australians booked their holiday directly through an airline.

Flight Centre executive general manager Colin Bowman said the uncertainty of recent weather events, from last year's volcano ash cloud to the Japanese tsunami and Christchurch earthquake, could be behind the change.

"The uncertainty of it all has highlighted the importance of having someone like a travel agent back at home to call on in a time of need," he said.

"Travellers feel a sense of security knowing that their travel agent can help out, should something go wrong."

Roy Morgan director of tourism, travel and leisure Jane Ianniello said long-haul holidays to places such as Europe, the US and the Middle East usually required a more complex itinerary and people still needed an agent to help with their bookings.

Bank customers back to branches

Commonwealth Bank’s retail sales general manager Lyn McGrath said after launching a campaign to win customers, the younger generation was leading the charge back to branches.

Ms McGrath said changes such as the introduction of concierge services in main branches and designer branches with coffee machines has “no doubt increased the numbers of customers coming into branches”.

“Customers are using online for simple things like paying bills, but we’ve certainly seen a demand for face-to-face contact for the bigger transactions,” she said.

ANZ’s managing director of retail distribution Mark Hand said many customers enjoyed access to internet and mobile banking but agreed people still wanted face-to-face contact.

“We’ve certainly noticed people are using branches differently these days and they’re visiting us to have more in-depth conversations with our personal bankers,” Mr Hand said.