‘Wake up or get mugged’ Pirie tells agents
Travel Republic managing director Kane Pirie gave his reaction to the ATOL reforms announced this week.
"So much for the coalition helping private sector growth by reducing regulatory burden!
The proposal to treat separate flight and hotel bookings as if they were a single package booking makes no sense.
The driver for this is that the existing scheme to cover package holidays has not been well run, and is estimated to be over £50 million in the red. A combination of poor risk assessment by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and low premiums charged to the tour operators has resulted in fund outgoings massively exceeding income.
The tour operators have successfully lobbied for this deficit, which by rights belongs to them, to be cleared by a new holiday tax on their competition’s customers.
Good for them, but how can it be fair that customers who choose not to book package holidays with tour operators pick up their multi-million pound hangover?
The changes will also in effect outlaw the business model of the UK’s many travel agents who will be asked for the first time to accept responsibility for the failure of airlines and other travel providers.
The full cost of complying with the new regulation will render the business model of many uneconomic leading to significant job losses.
Travel agents need to wake up and speak up to avoid getting mugged under the new rules.
The cloak of convenience is consumer protection but customers already have good cover against the failure of their holiday provider through the protection on card payments (both debit and credit).
In addition, Travel Republic operates a broad financial protection scheme covering customers, including those who book just a flight, against insolvency risk.
This is important as surprisingly the airlines, who coincidentally also have powerful lobbying connections, will remain completely outside the scheme under the proposals announced yesterday.
This alone evidences the changes are not about consumer protection – one outcome could well be more customers choosing to book directly with airlines with no cover.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
All eyes on Qatar as Qatar Airways leads a season of global events