Survey reveals the key factors shaping agent sales
A new survey on the ‘factors that influence retail travel agency recommendations and their impact on consumer choice’ has revealed preferred supplier agreements are no guarantee of loyalty.
The survey finds that only 55% of the agents surveyed across Australia always recommend and push preferred agreement products and services over others, with 33% of the 289 respondents saying they recommend preferred products and then move on to others, while 14% said preferred agreements never influence their recommendations.
The research was conducted by Tourism Management students at the University of Technology, Sydney for marketing and PR consultancy Finnesse Communications.
It found the most significant influences on agency recommendations to be personal experience, commission and incentive schemes and training.
Agents were also asked to rate their use of various search tools for travel information, with GDS and CRS clearly the most useful tools, followed to varying degrees by internal agency intranet, consolidator and airline websites and trade publications and e-newsletters.
88 consumer respondents were also surveyed to determine why they chose to use a travel agency and how they selected one, with Flight Centre and promotional deals proving the most popular draw cards among those surveyed.
The survey found agents have a significant influence on consumer choice, even when the customer has pre-determined ideas.
“Most previous research of agent and buyer behaviour has focused on the consumer’s search for information and services,” says Satu Raunola, Director of Finnesse Communications, who represents Scandinavian Airlines, Bentours, MyPlanet and Finnish Tourist Board among others.
“Our objectives in commissioning these surveys were to gather intelligence for our clients on how recommendations are made or might be influenced to assist them in marketing their products.”
Finnesse also coordinated a second survey by UTS students on Australian agents’ awareness and perception of Scandinavian and Nordic destinations and travel product. This attracted a high response rate of 375 agents or 12.5%.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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