2008 a tough time to be a travel agent

As the year 2007 draws to a close, independent travel agents are seeing some big changes in their industry and some are having difficulty making the right adjustments.

 

Approximately one sixth of the travel agencies on UK's high street are still unsure about their future as the consolidation efforts of Worldchoice, Global and the Travel Trust Association continues to be dragged out. Agents working for Worldchoice in 2007 are unsure if they will be joining the Stella Group in 2008, or the TTA.

 

Adding to their troubles, independent travel agents also drew fire last week from the managing director of TUI Travel UK, Dermot Blastland. He said that independent agents aren't as innovative as they should be. According to Blastland, for agents to succeed in 2008, they will need to adopt a new business model.

 

TUI Travel UK is the owner of Thomson. Although Thomson doesn't offer the highest commission rates in the business, independent travel agents must listen to the advice or lose out on work with two of the country's largest tour operating groups.

 

New legislation has also made the job of independent travel agents more difficult. The laws state that any travel agent who does not communicate with the airline about the needs of a disabled customer could face criminal persecution and a fine of up to £5,000.

 

The new law will come into effect starting in July 2008, but next year is already looking like a difficult one for the UK's independent travel agents.

 

 


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Jennifer Jones Editorial


06/12/2007



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