ABTA bosses have revealed the cost of attending this
year’s convention could be nearly £1,000 – despite it being one of the trade’s
toughest years.
The minimum cost for each member is £777, covering
registration, flights and accommodation, but for delegates flying out of
Scotland the cost hits £930.
Registration is £219 per delegate, flights start at
£347 with Virgin Atlantic from Gatwick and rooms cost £52.75 per night,
discounted from a normal rack rate of more than £150.
The prices compare to £512 for Palma last year and
£611 for Cairo. Advantage Travel Centre’s recent conference in Kuala Lumpur
cost £500 per member.
Some agents were determined to source their flights
independently but others admitted they could not go unless they were sponsored.
Meanwhile, operators have admitted
they’ll slash the number of agents they take, with the total number of
sponsored agents unlikely to top 120. Last year 250 were sponsored.
Plymouth-based Peter Goord Travel proprietor Anthony
Goddard claimed consortia conferences were just as beneficial as ABTA and
better value: “I won’t go unless I get sponsored. If business was booming it
might be different.”
Liverpool-based TravelWise retail director Rita Hunter
said she would try to find the flights independently. “This is excessive and
the registration fee seems high,” she said.
Freedom Travel Group general manager Trevor Davis said
he thought the Orlando event would be ‘fantastic’, but added: “The price may
well deter some independents – £1,000 could be a year’s supply of stationery.”
Stowaway Travel director Paul Stowe was equally outspoken:
“It’s silly money. The average agent is not going to pay that to go to an ABTA
Convention.”
Advantage interim managing director Geoff Blagg said
numbers could be hit but excitement about the destination could make members
less price sensitive.
ABTA board member and St Andrews Travel Group MD
Andrew Dixon said some may be put off but stressed the conference remained good
value.
ABTA claimed agents would not be deterred by price.
Bosses are confident of attracting 1,800 delegates – and say half of those will
be agents.
“Attending the ABTA Convention is a legitimate
business expense and whether it costs £500 or £700 won’t make a difference,”
said ABTA chief executive Ian Reynolds. “It’s not realistic to expect the young
agents to attend but managers will. Where else do you get access to three of
the world’s major theme parks in one convention and three days’ free entry
afterwards?”
Thomas Cook, P&O, Norwegian Coastal Voyage and
First Choice all intend to sponsor agents. TUI has no sponsorship plans this
year.
Commercial director Derek Jones said: “We will not be
doing a charter flight as we did to Cairo. It’s prudence.”
ABTA head of corporate affairs Keith Betton said:
“It’s been a tough 12 months and packages are more expensive because of the
transatlantic flights.”