Agents consult social network sites for advice

	December 19, 2007
	TravelMole reports that TripAdviser, IgoUgo and YouTube are the sites most used by business travel agents and leisure travel agents to review hotel ratings before passing on advice to travellers, according to an Amadeus poll. The study, which looks at the increasing popularity of user-generated content, found 100% of business agents compared to 87% of leisure agents turning to these resources for help. Findings also revealed that - although most agents agreed Web 2.0 and user-generated content has effected how people book travel - more than half the respondents said they did not use the sites in the course of their everyday work. Of the UK leisure agents questioned, 59.7% said they did not use the review sites when making bookings compared with 63.8% of business agents. In addition, 90% of business agents said they could see a time when self-booking tools would include user-generated content such as reviews.
	Author: TOURISM staff Organization: Canadian Tourism Commission