High street agencies should create ‘experiences’
High street travel agencies which offer an ‘experience’ for their customers are the ones who are most likely to succeed.
This was the advice from Martin Alcock, director of The Travel Trade Consultancy, who spoke at this week’s ABTA Travel Matters Conference.
Outlining trends affecting the travel industry, Alcock said high streets have changer forever, with many businesses closing down, mainly banks but also casual dining and high street fashion businesses.
Instead, there has been an influx of new boutique gyms, plus ‘vaping and baking’ outlets.
"Customers want to come to the high street to have an experience, not to buy commodities. Those travel agencies which can offer an experience will be the ones that will do well," he said.
Alcock said consumer confidence has been hit in recent years, but was not as low as in the period around 2010-2012.
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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