There was a time, not incredibly long ago (though maybe longer than I’d like to admit), when travel agents and travel advisors were the key to booking complicated trips both domestic and international. This was the era of glossy brochures, hotel fax numbers and plane tickets made of paper that arrived in the mail before your trip that you were under no circumstances to misplace.
With the arrival of the internet, however, more and more people became their own travel agent. Instagram came along and everyone became their own hotel scout. Then TikTok arrived and made everyone their own destination expert.
Travelers have more tools, more reviews, more booking platforms, more ‘hidden gem’ lists and more algorithm-fed travel inspiration than ever. But in an information age that’s given us far too much info to handle, the travel advisor has returned as the key to planning (and executing) your perfect trip.
Too Many Options, Not Enough Certainty
Michael Johnson, president of the travel agency consortium Ensemble, sees the recent shift as a practical one. “What we are seeing is a shift from access to outcomes,” Johnson told LA Times Studios Travel. “Travelers have more tools than ever, but more choice has actually made travel more complicated.”
That complication is showing up in the numbers. Research from the American Society of Travel Advisors has found that 50% of people are more likely to use a travel advisor now than they were in the past. Phocuswright’s “U.S. Travel Agency Landscape 2025” also points to travel agencies gaining ground, with luxury and high-end travel among the areas helping drive the momentum.
The surprise is just who is helping to fuel that growth. Millennials and Gen Z travelers, the same groups often assumed to be happiest booking everything from a iPhone, are increasingly turning to human advisors — especially for trips that are expensive, international or hard to fix if something goes wrong.
The New Luxury Is Knowing What’s Actually Worth It
For younger luxury travelers, the draw is not having someone simply “book the trip.” It is having someone who can tell them which hotel is actually worth the splurge, which room category matters, which transfer is going to be a pain after a red-eye and whether the dreamy boutique property they saw online is genuinely right for the type of trip they have in mind.
“For bigger, more meaningful trips, they do not want to spend hours sorting through hundreds of options online hoping they made the right decision,” Johnson says. “They want someone who is connected and truly in the know.”
That being said, younger travelers are not necessarily outsourcing taste. Many of them come to an advisor with screenshots, saved posts, restaurant ideas — basically a mood board of the trip already forming in their head. The advisor’s role for them is often to edit, refine and reality-check that vision.
“They come in with ideas and inspiration and expect an advisor to build on that,” he explains. “It is less about transaction and more about partnership.”
The Trips Too Important to Leave to Chance
That partnership can be especially helpful when a trip has emotional weight. A quick weekend in Palm Springs may not need much more than a casual internet search. A honeymoon in Thailand, a multi-country family trip, an African safari, or a milestone birthday in Japan is a completely different story. Those are the trips some people put their savings into, planning months or years ahead.
“The first thing is complexity,” Johnson explains of what usually pushes someone toward an advisor. “Multi-destination trips or anything international tend to push people toward an advisor.” The second, he says, is importance. “When the trip really matters, like a honeymoon or a major family trip, people do not want to leave it to chance.”
The third trigger is decidedly less cheery: People want an advisor in their corner on the (hopefully very slim) chance that something goes wrong. Travel has always involved a fair amount of risk, but it seems to be even less predictable than it used to be, with weather disruptions, staffing issues, geopolitical concerns, shifting entry rules and tighter availability at sought-after restaurants and hotels.
A travel advisor is there to help you navigate those issues, dealing with those seemingly hopeless phone calls to support hotlines so can keep your stress levels down in midst of what’s supposed to be your vacation.
“Technology cannot step in mid-trip and fix a problem with context,” Johnson said. “A great advisor can.”
A Perk Not Just for the Ultra-Wealthy
For luxury travelers, advisors can also unlock the kinds of perks that do not always show up on a booking page. “Upgrades, late check-out, breakfast included, or a thoughtful welcome,” explains Johnson. “There is also access to experiences that are harder to find on your own. Private guides, unique local experiences, and priority reservations.”
That does not mean the modern travel advisor is only for ultra-wealthy travelers. That perception has lingered, but Johnson maintains it is outdated. Many advisors work across a range of budgets, and while some charge planning fees, the value often comes from avoiding costly mistakes, finding the right fit and knowing when a cheaper option is not actually the better one.
“Like any professional service, you are not paying for access, you are paying for expertise,” Johnson says.
Booking Is Easy. Getting It Right Is the Hard Part.
That may be the simplest way to understand why the travel advisor is once again having a moment. Travelers do not need help finding the options. The truth is that they have too many. What they’re finding they need is a sharper filter and someone accountable from the first booking to the final shuttle ride home from the airport.
As Johnson sums it up: “Booking online gives you options. Working with an advisor gives you an outcome.”
More Escapes. Travel. Adventure.
