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Most people make traveling out to be so much more difficult than it actually is and want to delegate it.
Same reason people use ubereats to pick up their food, or use accountants to file their taxes.
Someone who has the time to plan, has been there before & recently, has pull with locations to maybe get me some perks, knows the latest deals and events. Someone who I can explain my preferences to and they can deal with making them a reality (hotel room, dining vibe, dietary restrictions, pace of the day, stroller friendly). Especially helpful when there are no planners in the family or you have a lot of preferences/needs within the group.
Used it just once, for our honeymoon
I think they are most helpful for things like cruises and Disney World. Disney for example changes things frequently and your agent not only helps you design a better trip but can also save you a bunch of money.
It’s also a misconception that you pay for their service. You don’t pay anymore booking through them than booking directly. You typically only pay for them if you just have them plan your itinerary and then don’t book with them.
A good travel agent has recommendations you can use or not use. Due to their volumes, they can push providers to give you better access (better rooms, more perks, etc.). I plan my itineraries then get my TA’s input. She has not let me down.
She is also really good with booking car services overseas and navigating the various railway companies. There is no extra cost for using an agent so I’m not sure what the objection is.
You using a travel agent when you book through Expedia, booking.com, delta vacations, etc.
There is some merit to it, especially for elderly folks who don’t appreciate surprises.
It needs a lot of research to plan a trip to a foreign country, and even despite that I have always been surprised with how things went.
I was on a vacation last week and I thought I had booked the best resort location/amenity wise, to my surprise none of viator’s tours had picked up service from that resort, that was because the hotel had banned outside tour operators to force everyone to use their own in house tour agency
But that was not mentioned anywhere, not in reviews or online forums, so we had to spend premiums to go on day tours.
Even on Viator it was not specified they even accepted the tour when I booked it and filled out the pick up location, to tell me later that they wouldn’t pick up from there, with a travel agency I wouldn’t run into such issues.
Maybe inexperienced travelers going on an international trip. Older/elderly people who like to travel in groups with other older folks.
I used one for the perks (cruise, got a couple hundred bucks in onboard credits). Similar with high end hotels, agents might get you better perks at the same rate, especially if you don’t have status.
Chief
Not everyone has time or is savvy, or they want solid guidance if they are going on niche trips (Antarctica etc).
I find trip researching and planning enjoyable, it’s something I look forward to doing. Sometimes I do research for the future without booking anything. It gives me motivation to work.