They say it’s better to travel than to arrive, but it is easier said than done! To travel well one needs to plan the subtle elements knowingly ahead of time. For the majority of us, the planning stage is generally the dull piece before the fun begins – yet by putting a touch of time and energy into travel planning before taking off, you can relax and enjoy your travel a great deal more.
Undoubtedly, the level of planning required will depend generally on where you are going, for what purpose, for example, a vacation with family or a business trip, to what extent, a suitable accommodation and what you plan to do once there. Some of the imperative things to consider, for example, selection of the best airlines, purchase of tickets, getting the visa and hotel bookings, rent a car, tour guides and places to see or visit.
So WHY DO I NEED A TRAVEL AGENCY at all? I’ll just hop on to the worldwide web and Google whatever is required. Hold on is it as simple as that? Not really! Although with some effort you will be able to find most of the required information on the internet but the role of a Travel Agency comes in when you are looking for real value for your money. So let’s tackle this one by one;
Finding the best airlines?
Most airlines in Pakistan have their own offices in all major cities of the country and information for the same is available on the internet – see Airline Offices in Pakistan. So once you have decided upon your destination you could start calling each one of these airlines to find the fares, check availability, check transit duration if any and then visit the best one to buy the ticket. Or you can talk to a Travel Agency and let them do all of this work and come up with the best possible option. Your ticket shall then be delivered at your doorstep!
Applying for the visa?
Information about visa requirements is also available on the websites of embassies and consulates of foreign countries – see Embassies in Pakistan. But when you contact these embassies you find out that most of the countries have outsourced their visa application collection process to various large groups of Travel Agencies in Pakistan.
For example Schengen Visa Applications for France is being processed by AEG Travel Services along with visas for US, Dubai, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Similarly visa applications for UK, Argentina, India, Oman, Thailand, UAE, Kenya, Brazil and Turkey are being processed through Gerry’s International.
Note that visa application and fulfilling its requirements is a complicated process and a Travel Agency can provide guidance and assistance for the same, especially for first time travellers.
Hotel selection and reservations?
In this age of search engines and online payments, hotel selection and reservation is one of the easiest things to do on the internet. You can log in to thousands of hotel booking sites offering global discounts and special deals for example www.tripadvisor.com, www.booking.com and www.hotels.com.
So all is done on this count, at least I do not need a Travel Agency for booking a hotel! Not so fast. Bookings are easier done than cancelations and refunds. Even rescheduling on hotel bookings made on the internet can be difficult. A well planned smooth sailing vacation is all anyone could want, but there is always a chance for a last minute change of plans. Here a Travel Agency can play a big role and can be like an insurance policy. A good travel agency can assist you in finding another suitable accommodation plus handle the cancelation and refund issues, hence saving you a big hassle.
Rent a car, tour guides and places to visit?
If you are visiting a destination for the first time it is unlikely that you know the area and are aware of all the exciting tourism spots to visit. Here also a Travel Agency can help in arranging transportation and tour guide services which can make your holiday all the more fun.
So if you choose to work with a good Travel Agency all of the above-mentioned planning tasks can be outsourced to them, leaving you with enough time on your hands to fully enjoy your trip. Not only can it provide you services the internet cannot but the best part is they don’t charge you the additional fees they pay to vendors.
Lookup.pk offers hundreds of directory listings of Travel Agencies in all major cities of Pakistan such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Quetta and should be a good starting point for travellers to find a good travel and tours company.
You can also find thousands of reviews posted on Lookup.pk which can be used to evaluate the reputation and credibility of any Travel Agency. Lookup.pk offers a platform to review businesses and proactively encourages people to post their personal experiences so that the same could be used by others for guidance.