ABERGLASSLYN, Australia — In the past year Australian travel agents have come under attack from OTAs with advertisements launched by Webjet publicly dissing agents. Not surprisingly, the agents are fighting back.

We reported in January the viral video of David van de Meer from helloworld in South Perth, Australia mocking clients were stuck in Bali after booking with an OTA. Now Sarah Fenton, an MTA (Mobile Travel Agents) Travel Expert, has written a open letter letting consumers know why it’s better to book with an travel agent.

In her post she highlights agent-exclusive EBBs: “Online is not always the best price…and rarely the best value. Wendy Wu is an Asia Travel Specialist and as a Travel Agent they have given me (and other agents) exclusive access to 2018 Earlybird deals BEFORE they go on sale to the general public.”

She continued to point to the advice and other savings agents can offer: “Bigger savings, smaller deposits, and all because you booked with a professional travel agent who can guide you through a choice of airfares (including seat selection and menu choices) to match your tour choice and assist with passport advice, visas and foreign currency and stopover options and airport transfer advice and travel insurance options and pre tour hotel selection and how to avoid jet lag and which airlines have the best entertainment options for your children and the best legroom for you … shall I continue with all the things the Internet does not offer personal advice on?”

Wendy Wu, the tour operator mentioned, thanks Fenton in the comments section, saying, “It’s so wonderful to hear such lovely words. You, like all travel agents work extremely hard in the industry and we are extremely grateful for all that you do for both us, as operators and our loyal clients.

“We hope that this pre-access helps you kick off the Early Bird deals, and enables you the freedom to sell to your loyal customers.

“We are proud to stand with our travel agent partners, such as yourself, to help you grow your business.

“So, a big thank YOU from all of us here at Wendy Wu.”