TravelBug aims to provide online shoppers with the best of both worlds: The 24/7 convenience of the Net with the vast accumulated knowledge of dozens of travel consultants who, between them, have already visited many of the countries that you may wish to travel to. And if they haven’t, they certainly know of someone who has so you’re never more than one degree of separation away from such hands-on knowledge. More importantly though, unlike many online web sites, you can be safe in the knowledge that any monies that you pay out for travel products or services are 100% fully insured against loss as every single agent providing you with services via this site is both government licensed and bonded!
We’re delighted to announce the winners of our recent competition in the Sunday Times Travel Supplement
Travel Bug is the new online initiative from Travel Centres – Ireland’s largest grouping of independently-owned, licensed and bonded travel agents with outlets located throughout the country. To find an agent located near to you, either click on one of the pins in the map or scroll down through the alphabetical listing of agents below it. Read more
One of the most important and oft-cited reasons for the phenomenal success of various social media sites in recent years has been the value that we place in peer review — we value the opinions of others, particularly others like ourselves. Read more
Think that the Internet is the greatest thing since sliced bread or that the best deals can only be found online? There are numerous reasons why the ‘smart money’ continues to favour the travel agent. Read more
For many travelers, travel decisions are largely determined by the destination itself. Prague or Budapest? Australia or New Zealand? The USA or Canada? We choose places based on a multiplicity of criteria such as proximity, accessibility, cost, uniqueness, safety and a whole host of other qualities. Increasingly though, travelers (and experienced travelers in particular) are choosing destinations based more on what they can do when they get there. The destinations themselves still must tick many of the same boxes as already described above but they also need to offer some other points of differentiation. Some people choose to visit Amsterdam, so they can try their first joint without having to do so surreptitiously down a dark alley. Others like to visit Paris or Rome so that they can explore those cities vast catacomb complexes. Some who want to experience what it’s like to fire a Glock, AK47 or minigun may choose destinations in Lithuania, Thailand or the USA to pander to those urges.
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Or an erupting volcano? Or an air traffic control strike? Or a computer systems failure (remember the infamous BA glitch earlier this year?)
We’re all familiar with the old phrase ‘You get what you pay for’ and never has that cliché been more relevant than over the course of the past few weeks when Ryanair began its ‘drip drip’ release of announcements regarding sweeping flight cancellations across its entire network. The headlines have declared that it’s all down to a cock-up over pilot rostering but I suspect that there’s a lot more to this story than meets the eye and sources on the inside suggest that this problem was known about in Ryanair for quite some time but has only begun to manifest itself in recent times.
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Clichés become clichés because there’s always a large dollop of truth in them. We’ve all heard this one before and we usually associate it with buying cheap clothes that disintegrate after the first or second wash or the piece of gear or tech that was made in China and stops working after relatively little use. But did you know that those words of wisdom can also apply to the purchase of nearly anything — including travel products or services?
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The current legislative landscape that regulates both travel agents and tour operators in Ireland was introduced into law in 1982 following the spectacular collapse of Bray Travel the previous year. Bray Travel had been the largest tour operator in the state at that time and the financial fallout from that event which was estimated to be in the region of €1.5M at the time was largely the reason why the subsequent legislation was introduced. Under the new scheme all entities wishing to trade in the republic of Ireland would have to be both licensed and bonded for a percentage of their turnover each year — currently 4% in the case of travel agents and 10% if you are a tour operator.
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The title of this week’s blog is a tag line that was introduced some years ago by ASTA, the American Society of Travel Agents, to reinforce the point that when travelers organize their own travel arrangements, there is no back-up when things go wrong, whereas when you make them through a traditional travel agent as opposed to an OTA (online travel agent — different beast altogether!) you enjoy all the service benefits of that eco-system. The Irish equivalent of ASTA, the ITAA (Irish Travel Agents Association) also uses that same slogan to emphasis the benefits of utilizing the services of a travel professional.
Continue readingFancy a balmy getaway this weekend?
Fly to Gran Canaria from Cork for €699pp
Price includes, flights, accom, transfers, baggage and rep.
Contact your nearest Travel Centres agent here to book now:
travelbug.ie/find-agent/
Getaway this weekend from €199pp!
Contact your nearest Travel Centres agent here to book now:
travelbug.ie/find-agent/
Uniworld Boutique River Cruising
8 day LUXURY river cruising from €1,259 - that is an absolute STEAL!
If your still humming and hawing about whether river cruising is for you, you can visit our blog where we have spoken about our experience, or you can just click on the picture below and pick your jaw off the ground when you see the value for money you are getting for this luxury product!
Contact your nearest Travel Centres agent here to book now:
travelbug.ie/find-agent/
You can visit our blog here: travelbug.ie/blog-archive/
#Sicily 21st October 2017 from only €379pp flights and accommodation
or
€329 flight only......that's an easy choice to make, right?
Contact your nearest Travel Centres agent here to book now:
travelbug.ie/find-agent/
#LATEDEAL to Gran Canaria this weekend from €199pp!
Contact your nearest Travel Centres agent here to book now:
travelbug.ie/find-agent/
