Hays Travel brand ambassador Davina McCall has said consumers need help to “understand everything is easier with a travel agent” when booking a holiday.
Speaking five months after her appointment as the agency’s first brand ambassador, the television presenter said having the opportunity to meet frontline agents since she took up the role has been “absolutely brilliant”.
McCall told Travel Weekly: “We need to help the British public understand that it [booking a holiday] is easier with a travel agent, and you will find the hidden secrets with a travel agent.
“You think you’re finding something on Instagram, but I’ve been to holiday destinations that I’ve seen on Instagram and it’s like dating somebody from an app where you feel catfished.”
McCall said she had been scammed several years ago when travelling to Ibiza by booking a hotel online that did not exist.
She said: “I’m not saying don’t listen to influencers anymore as they do have a place, but don’t put all your eggs in that basket.
“A travel agent often will have been there and will tell you the truth.”
She added the experience of booking holidays online was becoming “harder and harder”, contrary to the belief it is now more simplified, prompting her to ask why more people were not using an agent.
McCall was optimistic about the future for travel agents and the high street.
She said: “The more that time goes by and the less connected we are, which I think will happen more and more through AI and job losses, that personal touch of seeing someone will become incredibly important.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if our high streets became very vibrant places again, because we will need to connect on a human level.”
McCall emphasised “a really personal experience” where an agent gets to know someone and the “little things” they want on holiday is far better than sitting for five hours online “arguing with a bot”.
