驴行天下:找旅行社还是自助游

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.

随着诸如Agoda和Zuji一类旅游产品在线预订网站的兴起，你可能会觉得传统的旅行社需要转行了。

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.

但是因为有了Nicki Fung这样的旅行者，上述情形在亚洲并没有发生。十多年来她安排出行时找的都是同一个旅行中介。

'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曾经住在香港，现在住在北京，是维立克教育公司(Vericant）的创始人之一，她说：“如果我可以通过国泰航空(Cathay Pacific)飞经香港，我会尽可能这么做然后让她处理其余的事情。”

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

是什么原因让她保持着如此的忠诚度？她说，这位旅行中介总是“想在我前头”。

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不仅密切关注着航班剩余座位并帮她处理哪怕最后一分钟的日程变动，也会帮助她整合复杂的行程。

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想把前往美国和加拿大的商务旅行与同母亲到肯尼亚度假结合在一起。她说：“让我的旅行中介帮忙安排事情就容易得多，她推荐的东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并不是个例。在香港，新增旅行社的数量在近几年稳定上升。去年，香港旅游业议会(Travel Industry Council)的会员单位数量有1683个，2010年则是1568个。成为会员是专业机构取得营业执照的必要条件。

'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.

旅游业议会总干事董耀中说：“香港居民意识到，如果他们需要得到保障，就要通过有资质的旅行社购买旅游产品。”

Convenience, saving time, personalized service伟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.

舒适、节约时间、个性化服务──这些都是多年来我一直与我在曼谷的旅行中介合作的原因，尤其是要订机票的时候。当航线限制增多、价格上涨并且累积里程的规则更加复杂的时候，优秀的中介简直就是救星。

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.

这位让我信赖的中介就是Green Travel的Mike Chan，他将我所有的航空公司常旅客号码记录在案，在订票的同时帮我累积里程和升舱。

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.

但是并不是所有的旅行中介都水平相当。与顶尖的中介相比，有许多人做得实在是太少了。正是这一点使得Charmaine Wai转而到网上寻求服务，她是欧洲工商管理学院(INSEAD)新加坡校区业务发展总监，也是个老道的旅行者。

'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说：“你付给中介额外的服务费，他们却不一定为你找到最优惠的票价，常常是全价经济舱，这并非首选。”

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.

她补充道，自己倾向于直接从航空公司网站订票，不仅可以选择舱位，还可以选择座位和餐食。

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.

事实上，如今有越来越多的人选择通过网络来规划假期。总部位于美国的旅游市场调研公司PhoCusWright的一份报告显示，亚太地区在线预定数量的增长速度是整个旅游市场的两倍。到今年年末，这一数字将会占到预定总量的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.

日本是电子商务发展较早的地区，在亚太地区的在线预定领域也处于领先位置。不过PhoCusWright高级调研总监道格拉斯?昆比(Douglas Quinby)表示，中国和印度市场也增长迅速，已有的国际性网站强势进入，本土网站也发展壮大，例如中国的携程(Ctrip)以及印度的Makemytrip 和Cleartrip。

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

并不是每个人都喜欢在线预定。昆比指出，互联网渗透率极高的香港和韩国就是例外，这让行业专家困惑不已。同时，依靠向退休人员和旅行新手销售团队旅游产品，传统的旅行社仍旧维持着良好的业绩。

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.

在线预定的趋势还是不可否认的。昆比说：“在东北亚市场（香港、台湾、韩国和澳门），旅行者更加年轻和独立。我们在印度和中国也看到，城市高收入阶层的旅行者倾向于在线预定。”。

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.

这对于办公楼里家族式经营的旅行社来说不是好兆头。即便如此，实体旅行社应该也不会销声匿迹。在美国，在网络旅行中介、预定网站和整合式搜索引擎迅猛发展的同时，传统旅行社也开始向特定市场提供定制服务。想有人帮你安排参观日本的陶瓷工作室吗？试试Wabi-Sabi吧。想在博茨瓦纳来一次毕生难忘的观兽旅行吗？打电话给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.

事实上，找传统旅行中介的人和自助游的人之间并没有什么明显的界线。Fung经常使用网站作为搜索工具并在线预定住宿。昆比一手操办自己的商务出行。但是他也通过中介来安排每年的滑雪之旅，这是给母亲的生日礼物。他大方地承认道：“我们找一位专业人士来处理这件事。”

Here are some key tips to finding a standout agent:

以下是寻找优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伟Thailand and Hong Kong, for instance. But China? If you read Chinese, better stick to meta-search engines such as Ctrip or Qunar.

服务至上：在诸如泰国和香港这类拥有强烈的服务意识的城市和国家，你更容易找到优秀的中介。那么中国大陆呢？如果你能看懂中文，最好还是依靠携程和去哪儿(Qunar)这类搜索网站。

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

反应迅速：中介对邮件有多认真负责？她能不能通过邮件解决所有事情？节约时间以及不打电话是对优秀中介的要求之一。

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.

假日无休：中介周末是否提供服务、有没有手机号码可以在工作时间之外拨打？这一点当你在不同时区旅行而需要改签航班时尤为重要。

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 伟 investigate the carriers that fly a route and get an idea of what the fares are before you turn to an agent.

选择多样：中介是给你几个可选方案还是只有最贵的那个？这就是提前做功课获得回报的时候了，研究一下航空公司的航线，在找中介之前对价格有个概念。

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.

熟知机票：中介是否能清楚地解释机票的使用条件和特殊限制？如果你想更好地累积里程的话，搞懂那些复杂的条款很有必要。

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？请留下你的想法和评论，把你的问题发送给“旅途”，邮箱是，标题注明“Travel”。