ALL agents are being urged to get onto the Internet or risk losing bookings to rivals operating in cyberspace.
ABTA chief executive Ian Reynolds warned that agents who refuse to adopt the new technology will find themselves left behind. “We would encourage all agents to have Internet access and a presence on the Web. It is hard to think of an agent who would not benefit,” she said.
He warned that more and more products will be made available only on the Internet, so agents who are not on-line will miss out. “Already some services, such as Go’s flights, are bookable only on the Web and we are going to see more products that are available only on the Web or available on the Web at a better price,” he added.
Internet expert Paul Richer of travel technology consultancy Genesys said agents who have yet to embrace the new technology were right to be concerned.
He predicted that almost a third of all travel, and possibly as much as 50%, will be booked on-line within the next 10 years, which will mean less business walking through the door of traditional high-street agencies.
British Airways has already announced it plans to take 50% of its bookings on line by 2003, while Thomson is on record saying it anticipates e-commerce accounting for 30% of its business by that time.
“Regardless of what agents believe, the Internet is here to stay and it will affect their business,” said Richer.
A national survey of agents, carried out by merchandising company Headcount, revealed that 32% of staff working for multiples felt threatened by the Internet. Richer said their fears were not unfounded as the multiples were bound to follow Thomas Cook’s lead in taking bookings over the Internet (Travel Weekly March 6) as it provides a cheaper, more efficient form of distribution than retail outlets. “Selling on the Web is more efficient than selling through shops and I can’t help thinking that the travel industry will have to follow the banking industry and the large retail chains and rationalise their retail networks,” said Richer.
“This does not mean retailers will close all their shops, but there will come a time when some shops will just not be able to pay for themselves.”
“Staff will be shifted off the high street, either into call centres or into their own spare bedroom from where they will take bookings on-line and offer a telephone back-up service to customers visiting a Web site.”
Those most likely to keep their jobs will be the ones with technical skills and good telesales techniques, he added.
“Experienced travel agents with good selling skills will always be needed, although in the long term, they may be employed in call centres rather than on the high street,” said Lawrence Hunt, chief executive of 21st Century Travel which is launching an on-line agency later this year.
He added: “We recently carried out a pan-European survey which revealed that although there is definitely an interest in booking on-line, people want the reassurance of talking to someone on the phone. The multiples will stay on the high street, at least for the next 10 years, to give that reassurance.”
He advised independent agents to tie up with Internet companies and specialist calls centres, rather than try to launch their own Web sites.