A survey of about 50 Worldchoice members suggests 96% would consider leaving the organisation if the proposed merger with the Global Travel Group went ahead.
The survey questioned the members’ interest group, formed five years ago.
Member Stowaway Travel director Paul Stowe said 42% said they would consider leaving the organisation following a merger, while 54% would stay on board initially but consider leaving later on. Just 4% said they planned to stay regardless.
While only 8% said they supported the merger, half said they opposed it. The remaining 42% said they would require additional financial incentives to back the deal.
Stowe was unsurprised by the number of respondents who may quit Worldchoice, which has 440 members. He said: “We want to know what’s the point of merging with Global when it has a totally different way of doing business from ourselves.”
Worldchoice commercial director and general manager Bill Pickering refused to comment on the survey until he had discussed it with the members interest group. The Members Consultative Committee and the consortium’s regional chairman are due to meet on November 14 to address any issues.
He added: “Worldchoice values the views and opinions of every single member and that’s regardless of whether it is positive or negative.
“We are the most democratic of all consortia with a long-standing regional structure and a Members Consultative Committee, which offers a direct line of communication to board members.”