When a large meteorite hit the Earth long eons ago, scientists say the fate of the dinosaurs was sealed.

And when the Internet hit the travel industry much more recently, some wondered what fate awaited traditional travel agencies as heavy objects like Web-based Expedia, a do-it-yourself travel site, fell on the competition.

The short answer is that travel agents are no dinosaurs.

"We're here to stay," Michael Matz, president of Travel Management Agency in Casper, declares.

Indeed, one Jackson Hole travel agent even goes so far as to say the rise of online travel sites has been a plus for his business.

It is true that online travel sites are powerful forces in the marketplace. In September, the Travel Industry Association of America reported that nearly 64 million online travelers - 30 percent of the U.S. adult population - used the Internet during the preceding year to get travel and destination information. Of that group, 44.6 million actually booked at least one travel service or product. Moreover, the number of people who booked all their travel online has grown substantially.

Airline tickets were the most frequent travel product purchased online, reported by 82 percent of all online travel bookers, which was up from 75 percent in 2003. This was followed by lodging accommodations at 67 percent and vehicle rentals at 40 percent.

"The tremendous increase in travelers booking all their travel online signifies a major shift in consumer preference when it comes to planning and booking travel," Suzanna Cook, the association's senior vice president for research, said in a press release. "The Internet has put consumers in control of their plans and they like it. They're able to gather all the facts they need and compare prices and compare options to obtain what they feel are the best deals possible."

But rather than offering a grim outlook, Frank McKeon owner of Carlson Wagonlit/The Travel Consultants in Jackson, is upbeat about the effects of the Internet.

"It's been an advantage for us," he says.

When clients search Web travel sites like Expedia or Orbitz, they gain some idea of the routing and travel days they want. They also begin to understand the complexity of putting everything together at the best prices available. So at this stage, they often call McKeon to put the whole trip package together for them.

Dealing with the unexpected, he says, remains one of the principal advantages of a travel agency. "If they have a problem with the weather - like we have lots of times - they can't call Expedia to get information about whether the flight's on time," he says. "If we ticket it, we can pull all that information up."

McKeon adds that making travel arrangements via the Internet might not be breaking as much new ground as at first it might appear: "People who purchase off the Internet purchased off 800 numbers in prior years, and they weren't clients of travel agents anyway."

When it comes to price, Matz says travel agencies can equal or beat their online competitors in just about every type of travel service.

"Price-wise, we are really not at any kind of disadvantage," he says, "although a big percent of the population still thinks everything on the Internet no matter what it is - whether it's services or retail products - is cheaper."

In terms of airplane tickets, Matz says there are firms that charge the airlines to download ticket inventories onto computer systems which are then leased to travel agents. It is thus in the best interests of the airlines and the computer system vendors to make sure the travel agents have access to all the available fares.

Changing perceptions about the relative merits of travel agencies and the Internet requires education, which Matz terms a "slow and difficult process." Even so, he has seen some clients who have been using the Internet for making travel arrangements return to his agency for services, even as others are lured away.

"Heck, everytime somebody gets a new computer, they start changing their buying habits," he remarks.

Matz says while his business has made changes in recent years - he has downsized from five offices to two around the state and has lowered his overhead by using home-based consultants - only part of the restructuring has been a result of the Internet. Other factors have included increased competition generally - "there's just more ways to book travel now," Matz says - along with the negative impacts on travel occasioned by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and until recently, the high prices of air fares in Wyoming, which caused people to drive to Denver and elsewhere to catch flights.

Like McKeon, Matz says a clear advantage to using a travel agent can be summarized in a word: service.

"If you run into a problem with travel, or you don't know what you need or where a safe hotel is in New York, the Internet is not going to help you," he says.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@casperstartribune.net, or by calling 1-307-266-0574.