Comment by Jeremy Skidmore: Travel agent link-up the way forward
A little while ago I wrote a column saying that it was time the major independent travel agents’ alliances joined forces and the only thing stopping them was big egos on the board.
The other day Worldchoice chairman Colin Heal tapped me on the shoulder and said I should acknowledge Worldchoice for its plans to create a new agent body with the Travel Trust Association and Midconsort.
He’s got a point.
There is no question that potentially there is strength in numbers.
The new Independent Travel Agents’ Alliance could have more than 1,500 members and that’s a lot of buying power.
But it is only just the beginning of a plan to secure agents’ futures.
I’ve always said that agents cannot have it both ways – they can’t be a member of a big alliance and want to make unilateral decisions on what they sell.
The new ITAA will only make a difference if it is a unified body that starts giving real support to a selected number of operators.
These days, operators are already paying huge levels of commission and they can’t afford to maintain them, let alone raise them, for agents which don’t produce.
If ITAA just becomes a flabby organisation carrying lots of agents who do not want to toe the line, Worldchoice, MidConsort and TTA will have missed a huge opportunity.
Read previous comments by Jeremy Skidmore:
14-Jan-2003 Comment: ‘Time for agents to take control’
14-Jan-2003 Comment by Jeremy Skidmore: Big boys to blame for pricing attacks
10-Dec-2002 Comment: The Role of Independent Agents
03-Dec-2002 Comment: Anyone got any good news?
26-Nov-2002 Comment: Agent consortia should join, says Jeremy Skidmore
20-Nov-2002 Comment: Winter Bookings, by Jeremy Skidmore
13-Nov-2002 Comment: Timeshare and Resort Conference
05-Nov-2002 Comment: MyTravel
23-Oct-2002 Comment: The ABTA Convention
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