But I understood what they meant. The travel agent they remember is the one from the high street. A row of brochures, a screen they rarely let you see, and a lady in a neck scarf typing very fast to find you a week in the sun. 

That version of the job has changed a lot. High street agencies still exist, and the good ones do a cracking job. But the work I do as a travel advisor is different, and I will try and tell you why...

The internet was supposed to finish us off.  Like a lot of industries, travel took a hit when the internet took over.  After all, why pay someone to book a holiday when you can do it yourself at midnight in your pyjamas? Then AI arrived and the same prediction came round again, with knobs on.

Except the opposite has happened. 

The more information there is out there, the more people need someone to make sense of it. You can read four hundred reviews of a hotel in the Maldives and still have absolutely no idea whether it's right for you. 

Reviews tell you what happened to strangers. People that are different to you.  Reviews don't tell you whether the house reef suits a nervous snorkeller, or whether the "adults only" section is a genuinely quiet lovely area…or just a disappointing corner at the back of the resort.

That's what has changed. We stopped being ‘booking machines’ and are now skilled interpreters. My job isn't to find you a holiday. You can find your own holiday.  My job is to understand what you actually need (which is often different from what you first ask for!)  Then I build something around it that is just right for you and what you actually want from your trip. 

My job doesn't stop when you book. And this is the part people underestimate until they need it. When a strike grounds your connecting flight, you don't want to get stuck with a chatbot. You want a human who knows your itinerary inside out.  Trust me, I have rerouted clients at all hours of day and night, and from all sorts of locations.  They don’t need to know I am in bed in my pjs…or sitting on a beach myself.  They just want it fixed.  No chatbot will lose sleep over your holiday, but I occasionally do! 

There's also my network. I have worked hard to build relationships with hotels, ground handlers and guides across the world.  And this isn’t just schmoozing with a glass of wine.  This is making sure that my clients will get the upgraded room, they’ll have the best guide on the island.  And when things go pear-shaped, they help me fix things before you even know there is a problem.

So no, the job hasn't disappeared. I don’t consider AI as a threat to my role at all.  I offer the human touch and I care about your trip as if it was one I planned for my own family.  Knowledge, judgement, accountability, and a real person that actually answers the phone. 

Luxury isn't always thread counts and butlers. It doesn’t mean ‘oh god, Debbie only books expensive holidays’.  Luxury is handing the whole thing to someone you trust and knowing it is covered.  You just need to pack.

If you'd rather spend your energy enjoying a holiday than researching one, you know where I am.