Travel Agents and Guides

It appears two staples of leisure travel, the travel agent and the travel guide tome, are threatened by new smart-phone apps. Apple has been reported to have filed three patents for apps that allow the user to make reservations, create an itinerary, and view airport guides and information all from a smart-phone. NDTV 10 August 2010

While it is unclear how much travel agents have accommodated new technologies into their business models, travel agents are becoming more vulnerable. Two of the most well-known agents in the UK - Tui Travel and Thomas Cook - both downgraded profit forecasts after a dramatic slowdown in business this year. The downgrade has been attributed to the volcanic ash-cloud as well as the rising interest in staycations due to job insecurities. Guardian 11 August 2010

Meanwhile, the era of lugging a heavy travel guide appears to be threatened by the trend of ebooks. Guides by Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Time Out, Frommer's, and Fodor's are all now available through sellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iTunes. TravPR 11 August 2010

Does this mean no more arm-ache on the road? As long as power-points are available to charge devices. One side-effect of the increasing reliance on portable devices is a dramatic rise in lost power-chargers at hotels. Last year, the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver used its huge stash of forgotten chargers as Christmas decorations! Wall Street Journal 7 August 2010