The prospect of a landing in a Czech jail cell can sure take the bloom off that cheap Internet airfare.
Sure, the price was lower than what an old-fashioned travel agent might have offered, but the Web site didn’t tell me I needed a visa, and my first European business trip was cut short, ending with a missed meeting, an angry client and an unpleasant brush with the law.
Somebody should have told me, but an assistant with no international travel experience booked the ticket. A flight’s a flight, right?
It’s not an unusual situation. With many companies eliminating corporate travel agencies, more people than ever are using the Web to arrange travel abroad. Last year, $13.9 billion worth of airline tickets were bought online, most by individual bargain seekers, according to Expedia.com. Almost a billion of that was for travel abroad.
But the complexities of overseas travel are tough to navigate without professional help that could well be worth the additional cost.
“The problem is that you don’t know what you don’t know,” says Liz Sutton, president of Sutton and Associates, a travel consultancy in Montgomery, Ala. “The person who booked your travel didn’t know about the visa situation in the Czech Republic, and your trip was ruined–things like that happen all the time. A certified professional would have seen that coming.”
“Younger folks especially know the technology and can find low fares, but that’s the easy part,” says Paul Ruden, a senior vice president for the American Society of Travel Agents. “International travel can be very complex, and a professional can save you a lot of time and trouble.”
One of the great debates between using traditional travel agents and travel Web sites is the amount of money a traveler can save by booking online. Traditional travel agents say that fewer than 50 percent of travelers booking their own travel really save money. Internet services claim that’s sour grapes from an industry quickly becoming irrelevant.
But travel planners do agree that there are three areas in which international travel is more complicated and for which travelers should be prepared.
– First, the routing and geography aren’t as simple as they look on the map. Ruden says that when booking point-to-point travel in the U.S., the Internet works fine. In many parts of Europe, though, you could land in a hub like Frankfurt or Paris, grab a train and be in your destination before a connecting flight lands.
– Second, the documentation maze can be difficult to navigate. Laws governing visas, passports and vaccinations change often, and failure to adhere strictly to the letter of the law can result in disruption in travel or even, as in my case, threats of imprisonment.
– Finally, vaccinations and other health matters are subject to circumstances that change frequently. A knowledgeable travel professional can help arrange vaccinations, explore options or even decide if that cool trip is worth the threat of exotic diseases.
Expedia has partnered with Express Visa Services, a service that allows travelers to research, prepare and pay for travel visas online at the same time the ticket is booked. Health and travel advisories are available online, too, for those who have the time and patience.
The challenge is to do the research so you will know what you have to know. Or have a good lawyer overseas.
The document maze
It took RedEye about 30 minutes to book airfare for a single hypothetical trip to South America: Colombia, Chile, Brazil and Argentina. Here are some of the idiosyncrasies that took longer to uncover:
– Argentina: No visa required but bring a passport.
– Chile: No visa required but bring a passport and cash–there’s a $100 entry fee charged at the airport.
– Brazil: Need a passport and a visa and entry fee for both tourist and business travel.
– Colombia: No visa needed if you’re a tourist. Students and temporary workers (including trainers and consultants working for American companies) require a visa.
–W.T.
Bring your passport
– Travelers on sea cruises between Los Angeles and Hawaii require passports. Many cruises stop at Fanning Island, which is a possession of the Kirabati Republic. Without a valid passport, passengers are not allowed to get back on the ship. Who even knew there was a Kirabati Republic?
– Even though Alaska is a state, travelers on cruises up the Inside Passage have to meet Canadian requirements for travel if they are going to stop at ports such as Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Dozens of people are refused reboarding rights each year and have to fly home mid-vacation.
– Travel experts expect that in the next year, travelers to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean will require passports. Currently, a picture ID such as a driver’s license and proof of identity such as a birth certificate is sufficient.
–W.T.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
