TUI hits back at report predicting the death of high street agents
TUI has hit back at a TravelSupermarket report which claims only 11% of Brits will book their summer holiday through a high street agent this year (see earlier story).
Nick Longman, distribution and online director at TUI UK & Ireland, said he strongly disagrees with TravelSupermarket’s claim that local travel agents on the high street will soon be a thing of the past.
"From our own research we know that there will always be customers who want to make, perhaps, their biggest expenditure of the year face-to-face, which is why we offer customers multi-faceted booking channels," he said.
"A trend we’ve noticed is that customers are using our channels interchangeably. Customers might research their holidays on our website and on review sites like TripAdvisor, but then come into the shop to actually book their holidays. Whilst others will pick up brochures in-store and then book at home online.
"Both channels do co-exist and perform well in the same key area."
According to Longman, the company’s web share in the South East is 7% higher than its average web share, but the region is still the biggest for retail sales and accounts for 31% of total shop sales.
"Our online sales would also be lower if it wasn’t for a retail presence, as our data shows that 20% of customers who visited one of our retail shops ended up booking with us on the web," he said.
He also pointed to independent data from LTM on the wider travel market, which shows that for summer 2012 over 67% of holidays are still being sold through travel shops, with the remaining 33% being sold direct online or via the telephone.
"These proportions of distribution have changed very little year-on-year too. Furthermore, Euromonitor research has predicted that even in 2015 over 60% of holidays will still be sold off-line," he added.
* What do you think of the TravelSupermarket report? Do you agree the days of the high street agent are numbered?
Send us your views by clicking on POST YOUR COMMENT below.
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.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive