Dramatic fall in telephone enquiries for agents and operators
Directory enquiry calls for travel agents and operators have fallen drastically, according to the latest statistics from 118 118.
The enquiry service said in December 2008 it received 22% fewer enquiries for agents and 46% less for operators.
It believes the shift is down to the credit crunch and the impact of the weak pound on the cost of overseas holidays.
Within the UK domestic market, the number of enquiries for hotels dropped by 24%, bed and breakfast by 30%, holiday
homes/parks/villages by 15% and hostels by 17%.
The only accommodation type that experienced an upturn in calls was motor homes, which rose by 121%.
Calls for railway stations have fallen 29%, while enquiries for bus and coach operators and stations increased by 5%.
The report draws on the UK’s largest directory database of over 20 million calls received by 118118.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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