| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 26/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 8 |
| Copyright: Other |
Comment
Big boys keep a check on colleague collusion
DURING the Institute of Travel and Tourism conference in Las Vegas, City analyst Julian Easthope called for a greater openness from tour operators over pricing, capacity etc.It would certainly make his and our jobs a lot easier.
Sadly, it’s not going to happen, because all the big guys are trying to get one over each other.
The potential for collusion in our industry is massive. Chief executives of tour operators and travel agencies often meet up for a drink with their rivals – in what other industry would that happen?
However, potential is all it is, because the success of one operator depends largely on the relative failure of his or her competitor.
When they meet up, they’re fishing for knowledge, always careful not to give away anything which could give a rival an advantage.
And, of course, none of them trust each other as far as they could throw them and consequently view any information from competitors with suspicion.
In the distant future, this could change if all the main tour operators end up being owned by the Germans where the, shall we say, spirit of co-operation is much greater and discounting to gain market share is not considered a particularly smart tactic.
Then, of course, the big boys could collude and push up prices.
Perhaps the current model is better after all.
Jeremy Skidmore – editor.