Rabu, 09 Oktober 2013

The Travel Agent Is Dying, But It's Not Yet Dead

At the Reignwood LPGA Classic, the first Ladies Professional Golf Association event held in China, tee times were delayed to allow some of the smog to dissipate, but some players, including Germany's Sandra Gal, still donned masks. In some areas of Beijing, visibility dropped to less than 500 meters (yards) on Saturday night and Sunday morning, according to the National Meteorological Center. It said the haze hanging over a large area of northern China, including Hebei province, which neighbors Beijing, and the port city of Tianjin would persist until Monday afternoon. The oppressive smog in the capital sparked a high pollution alert from the U.S.

But as online bookings have grown, new breeds of agent have emerged that target luxury, business and niche travelers who value personal relationships and expertise over savings. "Some industry watchers indicate a return to the traditional agent," says Douglas Quinby, principal analyst at PhoCusWright. But they're wrong, he adds.

Does Travel Broaden Artists' Minds?

But can you actually demonstrate the impact travel has on an artistic career? University of Hamburg economist Christiane Hellmanzik attempts to measure the effect in a recent paper for the journal Empirical Economics and finds that whether or not travel makes artists better, it at least seems to make them more financially successful. Overall, trips to France had a significant positive effect on art prices6.8 percentthough the effect was far stronger before 1913.

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