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Saying No to the Net!!

Written by Adrian Caruso, CEO/Master Business Coach of TA Fastrack

A strange thing is happening as the Internet has penetrated more Australian and New Zealand households: Consumers are just saying "no." There are myriad reasons why, including economic and rural locations with limited connectivity. What will be surprising for many is the sheer number of individuals who can get connected but choose not to. At this time, the level of Internet penetration in Australia and New Zealand has stalled at roughly 65 percent.

What's driving this desire to unplug? In an article recently in Business Week magazine, writer Roger Crockett details how many consumers view the Internet as just another way to complicate their lives. Indeed, in an earlier column I shared some statistics pertaining to the search for travel information on the web and the overwhelming number of sites that get returned, regardless of criteria. To say it is daunting is an understatement.

So who are these people that choose to disconnect from our wired world? Some of them are obvious, like the 60 percent of people 65 and older who do not use the Internet at all. What is more surprising are the millions of well-off and younger professionals who say they don't use the web. In fact, 39 percent of those averse to using the Internet attended or graduated from college.

And for all of us, who think that every person who came of age with the advent of personal computers is connected, think again. Twenty-nine percent of those 44 and younger are not using the Internet. As John Barrett, director of research at Parks Associates, states in the Business Week story: "It's not just everyone's grandmother who is avoiding the Internet."

A big driver of this trend to not adopt the Internet is consumers' desire to simplify their lives. There are only 24 hours in every day, and most of us need to sleep for about a third of that time. That leaves 16 hours for work, commuting, kids, entertainment, exercise, parents, grocery shopping, laundry…you get the idea. By adding the Internet to the mix, many consumers are sacrificing some other part of their lives.

So what are the implications for the travel industry -- and travel agents in particular? A brief overview of the last 12 years is in order: At the Traveland Conference in 1994, a hotel executive told me I should start looking for a job -- I was running a travel company at the time -- since the Internet would put agents out of business in less than five years.

The airline commission cuts, caps, and ultimately zero commissions were expected to accelerate that process. In the mid to late 1990s, suppliers had invested millions in booking engines to make it easy for consumers to use the web to book direct. The word "disintermediation" became the rallying cry from the consumer media and others who were jumping on the Internet bandwagon. The final blow to travel agents was supposed to be 9-11, an event that many felt would relegate them to the proverbial scrap heap.

So what happened on the way to their funeral? It's amazing how things don't always work out the way some prognosticators would have you believe. In hindsight, these same people are now talking about consumers' desire to simplify their lives, spend more time with their families, and live more fully. It's these same people who are demanding personal service and attention, resulting in the growth of cottage industries that help consumers manage their daily workload. Picture personal shoppers at Nordstrom's or dry cleaning businesses that pick up and deliver your laundry!

In the end, the Internet is a great tool for gathering research in real time, and for purchasing commodity products. What some consumers used to get from copies of Consumer Reports when buying a dishwasher or from a toll-free call to a tourism office or supplier, they can now get more easily from the web. What many fail to realize is that consumers who travel will always do some research on their own. The shift to the web for some has simply lowered costs for suppliers and destinations that are fulfilling these information requests.

How do you as a travel agent take advantage of these trends? You need to position yourself as the travel concierge and net guru for your clients and potential clients. Explain how your job is to simplify their lives and make sure their trip goes off without a hitch. Explain how you'll be available 24/7 in case anything goes awry while they are on vacation. Give them your personal cell phone number and your home number. Most importantly, realize that consumers value what you bring to the table once they truly understand your business.

And remember how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same, over the past 12 years since that day I met that hotel executive.

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