They cited numbers, and I tend to believe them. Particularly for certain segments (like cruises). We booked a cruise in 2011 and it most definitely required an agent. There are just to many options and to much to weed through, the agents (who are free for me to use even) are just too easy for such a vacation.
I'm not even sure this is something that needs to be disrupted. My experience with actual people for booking these things has been fantastic. It's low stakes and relatively easy...I'm not sure online is better.
If you look at the linked report it says that online segments are growing in all of air, rail, car rentals and hotels--"vacations" are just not growing as a segment online. I think what tstegart might be saying is that it's not obvious which aspects of "vacation" are left, when all of those pieces can be booked individually.
I agree with regard to whether or not this needs to be disrupted--I do some work for a local travel agency and the level of service they provide is remarkable (it would be very difficult for me to save money by booking the same trips myself online, without even accounting for the time it would take me).
I'm not even sure this is something that needs to be disrupted. My experience with actual people for booking these things has been fantastic. It's low stakes and relatively easy...I'm not sure online is better.