Well....I was reading in one of our trade magazines that according to them, (supposedly they're in the know), that this year for the travel business is shaping up to be banner year!!! They are basing that on the clients increased wealth because of the tax help as well as the booming economy, and hopefully that will inspire them to book more vacations.

Research from a global marketing company, Strategic Vision, shows that 44% of the companies surveyed indicated that their clients were especially interested in international travel, and over half of them were optimistic about domestic travel. This was a major jump from the survey last year when less than 20% were interested in international travel and less than 30% we optimistic about domestic travel.

Their research showed too that the luxury travel industry was in for another banner year. One interesting statistic that they discovered in their research was that “travel and tourism is already the world's largest industry, contributing $8.3 trillion to the global economy”. They say that the combination of social media, affordable flights, greater wealth, and globalization (whatever that is) have created a new Age of Exploration. The experienced travel advisors at The Travel Factory are patiently waiting for all that crowd to darken our doors!!!!

Speaking of those experienced advisors, our combined experience in the travel industry, (and most of it here in Abilene), is over 150 years. If we haven't been there, we have probably sent someone where you want to go, or if not, we can certainly explore that location generally quicker and with our contacts and experience with suppliers get the price within their pocketbook.

You might have noticed that I mentioned that our employees here are experienced “advisors”. Here is a little background on the change of that descriptive job. In August of 2018, the American Society of Travel Agents announced to the world that it had been rebranded as the American Society of Travel Advisors. The name change was the first in almost 75 years. Why the name change?

Their explanation was that today's travel agents are no longer mere booking intermediaries. They have become trusted advisors, akin to financial planners and CPAs, who make the overall travel experience better and provide both leisure and business travelers maximum value for their travel dollar. The term “advisor” not only more accurately describes the value our members provide the consumer, but also serves as a distinct declaration of who we work for: the traveling public.

So what does this mean for those who work at The Travel Factory? We really don't care what we are known as because our ultimate aim is to help our clients have the vacation of their dreams, and if that means we are advisors, agents, counselors, or dummies, we don't care as long as our friends (or clients) love us enough to keep on coming back because they love our service to their travel needs.

So...back to my opening....come on, let's go somewhere!!! We are located on the southside of Abilene at 4150 Southwest Drive, between Rosa's and Chick-Fil-A, or you can call us at 698-1421, or enjoy our services at our web site: www.thetravelfactoryabilene.com.

We advise to serve our friends, and everybody is our friend if they let us help with their travel plans!!!