驢行天下:找旅行社還是自助遊

With the rise of online travel booking engines such as Agoda and Zuji, you might expect traditional travel agents to be looking for new careers.

隨着諸如Agoda和Zuji一類旅遊產品在線預訂網站的興起，你可能會覺得傳統的旅行社需要轉行了。

But not in Asia, thanks to travelers like Nicki Fung. A former Hong Kong resident, she has relied on the same travel agent for more than a decade.

但是因爲有了Nicki Fung這樣的旅行者，上述情形在亞洲並沒有發生。十多年來她安排出行時找的都是同一個旅行中介。

'If I can route through Hong Kong via Cathay Pacific, I'll try to do that and have her handle the rest,' says Ms. Fung, who is now based in Beijing, where she co-founded the education company Vericant.

Fung曾經住在香港，現在住在北京，是維立克教育公司(Vericant）的創始人之一，她說：“如果我可以通過國泰航空(Cathay Pacific)飛經香港，我會盡可能這麼做然後讓她處理其餘的事情。”

The reason for her loyalty? The travel agent 'thinks ahead for me,' she says.

是什麼原因讓她保持着如此的忠誠度？她說，這位旅行中介總是“想在我前頭”。

Not only does her agent, Christine Chiu of Shalom Travel, monitor seat availability and handle last-minute schedule changes, but she also pieces together complex itineraries.

她的中介、平安旅行社(Shalom Travel)的Christine Chiu不僅密切關注着航班剩餘座位並幫她處理哪怕最後一分鐘的日程變動，也會幫助她整合複雜的行程。

Last summer, Ms. Fung wanted to combine a work trip to Canada and the U.S. with a holiday with her mother to Kenya. 'It was much easier to work with my travel agent and have her suggest things that I wouldn't have been able to find on my own,' she says.

去年夏天，Fung想把前往美國和加拿大的商務旅行與同母親到肯尼亞度假結合在一起。她說：“讓我的旅行中介幫忙安排事情就容易得多，她推薦的東西都是我自己不可能想到的。”

Ms. Fung isn't alone. In Hong Kong, the number of new travel agencies cropping up has been steadily increasing over recent years. Last year, there were 1,683 members of the Travel Industry Council, a professional body whose membership is required for an operating license in the territory. In 2010, there were 1,568.

Fung並不是個例。在香港，新增旅行社的數量在近幾年穩定上升。去年，香港旅遊業議會(Travel Industry Council)的會員單位數量有1683個，2010年則是1568個。成爲會員是專業機構取得營業執照的必要條件。

'Hong Kong citizens realize that if they want attention, they have to purchase through a licensed agent,' says Joseph Tung, the council's executive director.

旅遊業議會總幹事董耀中說：“香港居民意識到，如果他們需要得到保障，就要通過有資質的旅行社購買旅遊產品。”

Convenience, saving time, personalized service偉these are all reasons why I stuck by my travel agent in Bangkok for years, especially when it came to booking flights. A good agent can be a godsend at a time when airlines are coming up with greater restrictions and fees, and ever-more complex mileage rules.

舒適、節約時間、個性化服務──這些都是多年來我一直與我在曼谷的旅行中介合作的原因，尤其是要訂機票的時候。當航線限制增多、價格上漲並且累積里程的規則更加複雜的時候，優秀的中介簡直就是救星。

My trusty agent, Mike Chan of Green Travel, had all my frequent-flier membership numbers on file, would book tickets with mileage, and snag upgrades.

這位讓我信賴的中介就是Green Travel的Mike Chan，他將我所有的航空公司常旅客號碼記錄在案，在訂票的同時幫我累積里程和升艙。

But not all travel agents are created equal. For every on-top-of-it agent, there are plenty who do the bare minimum. That's driven Charmaine Wai, a seasoned road warrior and director of development at INSEAD's Singapore campus, online.

但是並不是所有的旅行中介都水平相當。與頂尖的中介相比，有許多人做得實在是太少了。正是這一點使得Charmaine Wai轉而到網上尋求服務，她是歐洲工商管理學院(INSEAD)新加坡校區業務發展總監，也是個老道的旅行者。

'You pay a premium for a travel agent, but they don't necessarily find the best fares, and it's usually a Y-class fare, not priority,' Ms. Wai says.

Wai說：“你付給中介額外的服務費，他們卻不一定爲你找到最優惠的票價，常常是全價經濟艙，這並非首選。”

She adds that she prefers booking directly through an airline's website, which not only allows her to pick the fare class, but also her seat and meal.

她補充道，自己傾向於直接從航空公司網站訂票，不僅可以選擇艙位，還可以選擇座位和餐食。

Indeed, more travelers are turning to the Internet for their holiday planning. According to a report by PhoCusWright, a U.S.-based travel market research company, the number of online bookings in Asia-Pacific is growing twice as fast as the overall travel market. By the end of this year, they're projected to make up 25% of all travel bookings.

事實上，如今有越來越多的人選擇通過網絡來規劃假期。總部位於美國的旅遊市場調研公司PhoCusWright的一份報告顯示，亞太地區在線預定數量的增長速度是整個旅遊市場的兩倍。到今年年末，這一數字將會佔到預定總量的25%。

Japan, an early adopter of e-commerce, leads the region in online bookings. But markets in China and India are growing quickly amid an aggressive push by established international websites coupled with the growth of local ones such as China's Ctrip and India's Makemytrip and Cleartrip, says Douglas Quinby, senior director of research at PhoCusWright.

日本是電子商務發展較早的地區，在亞太地區的在線預定領域也處於領先位置。不過PhoCusWright高級調研總監道格拉斯?昆比(Douglas Quinby)表示，中國和印度市場也增長迅速，已有的國際性網站強勢進入，本土網站也發展壯大，例如中國的攜程(Ctrip)以及印度的Makemytrip 和Cleartrip。

Booking online isn't for everyone. Mr. Quinby notes that Hong Kong and South Korea偉which has the highest Internet penetration rates in the world偉are outliers that puzzle industry experts. Meanwhile, traditional agents still do good business selling to retirees and travel greenhorns on package tours.

並不是每個人都喜歡在線預定。昆比指出，互聯網滲透率極高的香港和韓國就是例外，這讓行業專家困惑不已。同時，依靠向退休人員和旅行新手銷售團隊旅遊產品，傳統的旅行社仍舊維持着良好的業績。

Still, the trend is undeniable. 'In markets in Northeast Asia [Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Macau], travelers are younger and more independent. We also see in India and China, city-based travelers with higher income levels booking online,' Mr. Quinby says.

在線預定的趨勢還是不可否認的。昆比說：“在東北亞市場（香港、臺灣、韓國和澳門），旅行者更加年輕和獨立。我們在印度和中國也看到，城市高收入階層的旅行者傾向於在線預定。”。

This bodes poorly for the family-run agency in your office plaza. That said, don't expect traditional bricks-and-mortar travel agencies to disappear entirely. In the U.S., as online travel agents, booking engines and meta-searches took off, traditional agents began tailoring their services to specific markets. Need someone to arrange a bespoke tour of ceramic workshops Japan? Try Wabi-Sabi. Looking into that once-in-a-lifetime safari in Botswana? Ring up Ker & Downey.

這對於辦公樓裏家族式經營的旅行社來說不是好兆頭。即便如此，實體旅行社應該也不會銷聲匿跡。在美國，在網絡旅行中介、預定網站和整合式搜索引擎迅猛發展的同時，傳統旅行社也開始向特定市場提供定製服務。想有人幫你安排參觀日本的陶瓷工作室嗎？試試Wabi-Sabi吧。想在博茨瓦納來一次畢生難忘的觀獸旅行嗎？打電話給Ker & Downey吧。

Indeed, the line between those who use traditional agents versus those who do it themselves are more blurred than they appear. Ms. Fung regularly uses websites as research tools and books accommodations online. Mr. Quinby handles all his own business travel. But he does use an agent for an annual ski trip, which is a birthday gift to his mother. 'We get a specialist to do it,' he readily admits.

事實上，找傳統旅行中介的人和自助遊的人之間並沒有什麼明顯的界線。Fung經常使用網站作爲搜索工具並在線預定住宿。昆比一手操辦自己的商務出行。但是他也通過中介來安排每年的滑雪之旅，這是給母親的生日禮物。他大方地承認道：“我們找一位專業人士來處理這件事。”

Here are some key tips to finding a standout agent:

以下是尋找優秀旅行中介的一些重要提示：

Service Matters: You're more likely to find a decent agent in cities and countries with strong service cultures偉Thailand and Hong Kong, for instance. But China? If you read Chinese, better stick to meta-search engines such as Ctrip or Qunar.

服務至上：在諸如泰國和香港這類擁有強烈的服務意識的城市和國家，你更容易找到優秀的中介。那麼中國大陸呢？如果你能看懂中文，最好還是依靠攜程和去哪兒(Qunar)這類搜索網站。

To the Quick: How responsive is the agent to e-mails? Can she handle everything via e-mail? Saving time偉and thus, staying off the phone偉is part of the appeal of an agent.

反應迅速：中介對郵件有多認真負責？她能不能通過郵件解決所有事情？節約時間以及不打電話是對優秀中介的要求之一。

After-Hour Care: Is the agent available on the weekends, and is there a mobile number you can call outside of office hours? This is especially important when you're traveling to a different time zone and need to change your flight schedule.

假日無休：中介週末是否提供服務、有沒有手機號碼可以在工作時間之外撥打？這一點當你在不同時區旅行而需要改簽航班時尤爲重要。

Exploring Options: Does the agent offer you a couple of alternatives or only the most expensive one? This is where doing your own research pays off 偉 investigate the carriers that fly a route and get an idea of what the fares are before you turn to an agent.

選擇多樣：中介是給你幾個可選方案還是隻有最貴的那個？這就是提前做功課獲得回報的時候了，研究一下航空公司的航線，在找中介之前對價格有個概念。

Just the Ticket: Does the agent explain clearly what the restrictions and conditions are on a ticket? If you're trying to play the mileage game, the fine print is essential.

熟知機票：中介是否能清楚地解釋機票的使用條件和特殊限制？如果你想更好地累積里程的話，搞懂那些複雜的條款很有必要。

To use an agent or not to use an agent? Leave your thoughts in the comments, and send your questions to Travel Well at with the subject line 'Travel.'

到底要不要找中介呢？請留下你的想法和評論，把你的問題發送給“旅途”，郵箱是，標題註明“Travel”。