Travellers today, whether experienced or not, have unlimited choices...so why use a travel agent?

Savvy travellers, when in need of information relating to specific destinations or activities, seek out travel agents with knowledge, experience and expertise of those destinations and activities.

It is not always easy choosing a travel agent. Many travel agents are called specialists, but sometimes the qualification to be a specialist is a simple test run by a tourism office. Sometimes, these test do not require the agent to have 'been there, done that, got the t-shirt.' Some of these tests are too simple and could harm the reputation of the travel industry if allowed to continue unchecked. A 'specialist' can mean...'I know the brochure product'...'I have seen a training video” ...'I have taken a test given by the Tourism Office”, etc.

Find a specialist and see if they are an expert. Ask them if they or their colleagues have any direct knowledge, experience and expertise of where you want to go and what you want to do. It's your hard-earned money!

Experts are out there. Find them locally or use the internet and then do your bookings with them. You may have to use different experts for different destinations and activities, just as you would select any other professional for accounting, legal, medical or mechanical matters...except in your lifetime you will probably (or hopefully) spend more on travel than all of the others put together!

Reality Check: A few weeks ago I tried a major chain of travel centres to get 2 tickets to Mexico from Canada...I was only offered 2 airlines...I then used an internet search and came up with 5 airlines and made my bookings online. Perhaps the travel centre did not earn commission or was not able to charge a fee for the booking or did not want an 'air only' booking...or did they only offer their 'preferred products'...limiting client choices?...The Nomad

At TopTravelSites.com we are seeking Travel Experts for destinations and activities and offer them free placements on our sites. All we require from them is a TopTravelVoucher to be used towards their own travel products or services.

If you DO NOT need an expert...G0-DIRECT but be sure to truly save!

If you 'go-direct' to the travel provider why should you pay the brochure price which includes a percentage for commissions to be paid to an agent?

It is only fair that they earn commissions and fees from travel providers such as hotels, lodges, tours, cruises or mark up their own tour products to allow for a third-party sale. They all have overheads which have to be covered to give local travellers the convenience of local shopping and it is important to support your local businesses as long as they offer excellent pricing and service.

At the same time, it is only fare that the 'GO-DIRECT' traveller should not have to incur this extra cost.

With TOPTRAVELVOUCHERS / GIFT CERTIFICATES from TopTravelSites.com THEY DON'T!

If you are comfortable with dealing over the internet directly with the travel providers listed on our site you can purchase our TopTravelVouchers and save on every travel selection (sometimes, many times over).

TopTravelSites.com does not sell or book travel arrangements. We introduce travellers to our travel clients and invite them to GO-DIRECT to them for all bookings, arrangements and payments. As a reward for their efforts they get to save on all of our onsite travel selections. Our low overheads and high volume sales allow us to 'GIVE-BACK' most of the commission element to our travellers, visitors and subscribers by means of TopTravelVouchers.

The internet has just about everything a traveller could want, whereas agents and agencies can only offer limited selections of brochures from travel providers and operators. There are thousands of travel providers who never get to see the inside of a travel agency brochure, but they would still be prepared to pay commissions to a seller of their products. At TopTravelSites we help them sell their products to you and pass the savings on to you. We retain a small percentage to cover our small costs of operation but plan to sell their TopTravelVouchers many times over to savvy 'go-direct' clients.

Search for 'top travel sites' or 'travel sites'...you will find us, but as yet we are not a 'household word'...but just wait awhile...

When you buy our TopTravelVouchers we suggest you 'look before you book and buy'...meaning...go to the travel website of choice...check out the quality, pricing...contact the operator...when happy with your choice....buy as many vouchers as are available for your wants and needs. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee within one year of purchase (to the original purchaser) and in the event that after you have completed your travels and are unhappy with the product...we will reimburse your cost of the vouchers... and seek redress from the operator.

Contacting our Travel Providers...just a tip...if you are calling by phone or skype (get it free) make sure you know the correct time in their 'neck of the woods'...It is embarrassing to wake up a Greek Sea Captain at one in the morning somewhere in the Greek Islands...believe me...the nomad.

If any of you travellers out there have any requests for TopTravelVouchers...just give us a nod!

You can contact The Nomad at any time at TheTravelInsider.net or info@thetravelinsider.net