| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 10/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 78 |
| Copyright: Other |
It’s a case of heads we win, tails you lose
THERE’S no flies on those boys from Airtours and I believe they’ve pulled off a masterstroke with their plan to drop direct-sell numbers from brochures (Travel Weekly July 3).Not long ago they got a lot of stick from retailers for droning on about booking direct in their brochures.
With summer 2001 off to a dreadful start and summer 2000 looking a bit flat on the back of big capacity rises, this wasn’t the response Airtours was hoping for.
So Airtours backed off and dropped the numbers from the second-edition brochures. It has listened and compromised.
Suddenly, retailers like Airtours – far more than if ithadn’t been so cheeky in the first place – and are more likely to sell the operator. Compare that to the attitude towards Thomson, which has stuck to its guns. But the devil is in the detail of Airtours’ proposal.
Managing director Richard Carrick has made it clear that travel agents have got six months to prove themselves in terms of sales. If he’s not satisfied after that time, then the numbers will go back in and no-one will be able to say he hasn’t given independents a chance.
Airtours will get away with doing exactly what it wants in six months time because only it will know what has happened to sales. And Airtours’ claim that it needs a “significant” improvement in bookings from the independent sector is so subjective – its idea of significant may not be the same as an independent retailer’s.
Airtours has done the right thing but agents have to stick to their guns and do what they do best – recommend the right holidays for their clients. If this can be an Airtours product, then fine, but they should not feel bullied into acting like an in-house retailer.
Carrick: has set agents a six-month deadline to improve sales or face the consequences