During my travels across Europe, I visited 16 countries and nearly thirty cities. If I had to name the most important "guide" for me, it wouldn't be a travel agency, but rather a somewhat mysterious Chinese app: Xiaohongshu, often referred to as Red Note today. We planned everything ourselves. Flights, trains, accommodation, restaurants, viewpoints, warnings about pickpockets, and even small local tips. A travel agency simply didn't cross our minds.
Just ten years ago, or perhaps even three years ago, a travel agency was almost an automatic choice for many tourists. You paid for a package, received an itinerary, and were led along. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, with the development of artificial intelligence and the massive growth of the internet, this model began to change rapidly. Travel is no longer just a service we buy; it's becoming a process of searching, comparing, and discovering on our own.
According to data from the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, cited by Chinese media, domestic tourism in China reached 1.23 billion trips in July 2026, an increase of 18.7% year-on-year, with total revenue exceeding 920 billion yuan. Both figures are among the highest in the past five years. Nevertheless, according to Sanlian Lifeweek, more than 2400 travel agencies ceased operations in the first half of 2026, and over 80% of industry workers experienced a 30-50% decline in orders during the summer. At first glance, this is a peculiar contradiction: people are traveling more than ever, but traditional travel agencies are weakening.
I believe the main reason is quite simple: the logic of making money has changed. Travel agencies used to have something that ordinary tourists didn't: information, contacts, and cheaper channels. They knew where to find affordable flights, how to access hotels, how to arrange transportation, and how to plan routes. Today, however, booking platforms and social media are showing much of this information directly to the public. The difference between a professional intermediary and an experienced traveler has narrowed.
The second reason is trust. In the post-pandemic era, many people have less faith in large institutions and advertising slogans. When a travel agency says that a place is beautiful, it sounds like marketing. But when a student in Paris writes about which subway station has the most pickpockets, or when a traveler in Barcelona shows a specific route for a safer evening return, it feels more authentic. People are no longer just looking for the "best product"; they're seeking the experience of someone who was actually there.
The third change concerns guides. Travel agencies used to have an advantage because they knew local guides and could offer deeper cultural insights. However, social media has opened up direct contact with local people. Some guides today speak Chinese, learn photography, create videos, and tailor routes to specific tourists. On the Greek island of Zakynthos, we hired a local guide in this way. Thanks to him, we were able to visit Navagio, the famous Shipwreck Bay, in detail, and the trip even included drone photography. It wasn't an anonymous package, but an experience created specifically for us.
The fourth reason is related to Chinese mobility. There are many Chinese people, and their presence can be found almost everywhere in the world. Therefore, there are incredibly rich experiential posts on Chinese platforms. Whether you're going to Paris, Barcelona, Athens, or a small town in Central Europe, you often find someone who has already been there and written very specific recommendations. Sometimes this information is surprisingly practical. For example, Chinese students in Barcelona and Paris shared experiences with pickpocket gangs, warned about risky areas, and even described where stolen items are sometimes found after thefts.
This doesn't mean that travel agencies will completely disappear. For older tourists, families with young children, business trips, or complex destinations, they may still offer significant value. But their role must change. Simply connecting a flight, hotel, and bus is no longer enough. That can be easily done by a phone call today. The travel agency of the future must offer something that the internet cannot easily replace: security, expert knowledge, crisis assistance, sensitive cultural interpretation, and a truly well-thought-out experience.
For me, traveling through Red Note is like a new form of collective intelligence. It's not just an algorithm, but thousands of small human notes. Someone recommends a cheap cafe, someone explains how to avoid the queue, someone warns about a scam. Together, it creates an informal map of the world. In this age of new media, big data, and artificial intelligence, people may want to travel even more than before. But they no longer want to be passive customers. They want to be co-authors of their own journey.