The digital revolution has significantly transformed the tourism industry’s distribution channels, presenting significant challenges to the traditional travel agency model. The Internet has emerged as a dominant platform, facilitating seamless direct interactions between tourism suppliers, intermediaries, and consumers. Consequently, travellers can now independently search for information, manage their travel arrangements and make reservations directly with suppliers, effectively bypassing traditional agencies. This study aims to investigate consumer preferences for online versus physical travel agencies during the travel planning phase, and to examine the trends in direct online bookings with tourism suppliers. An online questionnaire was disseminated among Portuguese residents, and the data were analysed using SPSS 28.0. The results indicate a generational divide: younger individuals tend to prefer online travel agencies, whereas older demographics favour conventional agencies. Despite this trend, a significant number of respondents continue to use traditional travel agencies for booking services and products, underscoring the ongoing relevance of these agencies in the travel industry. This highlights the need for continuous innovation by traditional travel agencies to adapt to evolving consumer preferences and expectations.