Home / Travel Guides / Why an Agent

Is It Worth Using an Independent Travel Agent? An Honest Answer

By Ethan Cookson · 18 July 2026 · 6 min read

Why are people going back to travel agents?

For years the story was supposed to run one way: booking sites would replace people. The numbers say otherwise. In ABTA's Holiday Habits research, 38% of UK holidaymakers booked their most recent holiday through a travel professional — a rise of four percentage points on the year before, as reported by Travel Weekly.

The most striking part is who is driving it. It isn't people who remember the high-street agencies of the nineties. It's young travellers — 48% of 18–24-year-olds booked through a professional, up from 36% in 2019 — and above all it's families with young children, at 55%, also up from 36% in 2019. The people with the most at stake in a holiday going right are the ones choosing to have a person in their corner.

The reasons they give are practical rather than nostalgic: ease of booking (54%), time saved (43%), value for money (39%) and access to expert help and advice (35%). And 43% pointed to the reassurance of knowing someone is there if something goes wrong — up sharply from 34% the year before.

What does “someone in your corner” actually mean?

That last number deserves a closer look, because it's the part booking sites genuinely can't replicate. When a flight is cancelled, a resort closes a pool for renovation, or an ash cloud grounds half of Europe, a website shows you a help-centre article. An agent picks up the phone.

“Our industry and its customers are once again dealing with the wide variety of operational challenges that can disrupt people's plans with very little notice, be that natural disasters or technological disruption.”

— Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive, ABTA

Disruption is not a rare event any more; it's a normal feature of travel. The honest question isn't “will anything change on my trip?” — it's “when something changes, who sorts it out: me, or someone whose job it is?”

What does an independent agent do differently?

“Independent” matters. A big-brand agency sells from its own shelf — its packages, its partner hotels, its margins. An independent agent isn't tied to one company's brochure, which changes the shape of the conversation: it can start with your budget, who's travelling and what you actually want from the time away, rather than with what's on promotion this week.

It also means one person carries the whole picture. The same person who heard that your youngest gets seasick and your mum needs a ground-floor room is the person checking the transfer times. Nothing gets lost in a hand-off, because there isn't one. That's the model Ethan is building his agency around: one point of contact from first enquiry until you're home again, and a reply to every enquiry within 24 hours.

When is booking online by yourself the better choice?

An honest answer has to include this part. If you're taking a short, simple trip you've done before — a city break on a direct flight, the same apartment you book every year — you'll likely be fine booking direct, and an agent adds a step you may not need.

An agent earns their keep as the moving parts multiply: several travellers with different needs, unfamiliar destinations, connecting flights, accessibility requirements, a once-in-a-decade budget you don't want to risk on guesswork, or simply no time to do the research properly. That's when “doing everything yourself and hoping for the best” stops being a saving and starts being a gamble.

What should you ask before choosing an agent?

• How are you paid? Fee structures vary across the industry. A good agent answers plainly.
• Who do I deal with if something goes wrong mid-trip? The answer you want is a name, not a department.
• How quickly do you reply? Ask for a number, not a “we aim to”.
• Are you tied to particular operators? Independence means recommendations built around you.
• What information do you need from me? A good agent asks about your party, your budget and what a perfect trip looks like — not just dates and a destination.

So — is it worth it?

The market has quietly answered: more than a third of UK holidaymakers, and more than half of families with young children, have decided it is. Not because agents are fashionable, but because handing the moving parts to one accountable person is easier, often no more expensive, and much less stressful when plans wobble.

If your holidays have felt like a second job to organise, that's the problem an independent agent exists to solve.