The article below was written by a happy Tour Italy Now traveler named James Aitken from Boston, Massachusetts. James’ Classic Italy vacation experience far outshone his expectations. Thank you for your kind words James, it is feedback like this that makes it easy to continue our commitment to strong, personalized customer service.The Shocking Simplicity of Buying Online Travel
The Future of Tourism Has Arrived
By James Aitken, Boston, MA
What ever happened to the “travel agent”? They seem to be plenty scarce these days. I think we all remember who they are – or were. Before leaving the country you consulted one. After recently experiencing the ease of purchasing online travel for myself, it suddenly dawned on me: the future of tourism has arrived and the brick and mortar travel agent is dying, if not dead.
For my long anticipated summer vacation this year, I spent hours sifting through an array of travel packages for those planning a tour of Italy. There were a lot of itineraries, all offered by the best online travel companies around. I was impressed by the wide selection, but one online travel agency that specializes in Italy travel stood out from the others. It was obvious they had easily the most interesting Italy packages – and as I looked through their website I discovered that it also sported the coolest and most informative map of Italy!
That company, Tour Italy Now, is an industry leader, developing outstanding vacation packages for those traveling to Italy every single day. I could see as I made my way through the selection of escorted Tours of Italy, that these people don’t just know Italy, they live it! The variety of escorted italian vacation packages is really quite outstanding. Of course there are the usual “getting to know Italy” tour packages, but that is not where the story ends! Imagine my surprise when I found the Specialty Tours and discovered a tour that not only takes me to Italy, but could have me driving a Ferrari through the Italian countryside! “Hmmm” I thought, “this year’s Italy vacation could be a lot more relaxing if I left some of the itinerary planning, hotel and restaurant bookings to an expert”.
Searching through the packages on offer, I managed to find what looked like the perfect Italy vacation. A 10 day tour that would capture the essence of the Italy. I requested an online travel quote and like tried and they quickly sent me a link to a beautiful online brochure describing their Italy vacation packages.
I had never experienced online travel before, but I was really enjoying the interactive map of Italy and reading through all of the different vacation options made me impressed by this company and by the online travel purchase process in general.
Then it suddenly hit me: We really have entered a new era. Self-purchased vacation experiences have revolutionized the industry, especially when you consider that purchasing travel online was virtually unheard of not long ago. What’s more, the online travel system on Tour Italy Now works; and it’s much better than the old system. You don’t even need to leave the house, just click on a map of Italy and start dreaming about your trip to Italy – I did! Booking my Italy trip was as easy as 1-2-3 using the map of Italy and step-by-step online travel purchase system.
I chose the classic Italy Tour – Rome, Venice, Florence – and I am more than thrilled with my online travel selection. This summer’s vacation in Italy was as memorable for my wife as it was for me – with all the romance, adventure and thrill of discovery that that you would expect from your dream trip to Italy. The ancient splendor of Rome, artistic beauty of Florence, and an intimate gondola ride through Venice gives some idea of our escapades. Partaking in more of our share of Italy’s heavenly food and divine wine, it was in every way the most exhilarating Italy vacation of a lifetime.
Our polite and knowledgeable tour guide’s extensive experience with Italy vacations showed. One afternoon he surprised us with a twelve course meal of house wine, fried calamari, pasta con pomodoro fresco, sautéed ceci with onions and spices and fresh bread in the cool of a seaside villa’s garden. As we dined on this last day of our Italy vacation, we reminisced about the treasures we uncovered during our fascinating Italy vacation package. Afternoon turned to evening and while sipping espressos we were suddenly serenaded by a wonderful performance of live singers and guitarists, men and women, who sang Neapolitan songs as we danced. All of us agreed, before turning in for the night, that this was the perfect grand finale to the best Italy vacation we ever imagined.
So, this is the future of online travel. Not bad. Take it from an experienced Italy vacation fanatic: We have come a long way. I have learned that any kind of Italy travel without knowing the destination beforehand is not a good idea. You miss much that planned Italy vacation packages like Tour Italy Now has to offer. I have also learned that it is sometimes best to be a man of the times. Having taken this Italy vacation from Tour Italy Now, I realize how much things have changed, and for the better.
We have truly entered a new era. I would have never expected this much from an online travel provider with fancy photos and a state-of-the-art map of Italy. Having taken the tour, however, I have experienced it for myself; an amazing amount of thoughtfulness and consideration have been poured into their Italy vacation packages and services. I give the entire online travel purchase process five stars. Hooray for progress and change, though in a way it’s sad. I never said goodbye to my travel agent.
