The travel industry must talk openly and honestly to overcome its challenges, president of the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association Jimmy Martin told guests at its annual dinner last night.
He said travel agents had proved themselves to be resilient, but cameraderie had suffered and the industry was in a “sad state of affairs”.
“We need to be straight-talking and frank. We should be talking openly and not behind closed doors,” he said.
Martin said the terrorist attack on Glasgow airport had been dealt with “heroically and efficiently” and had had a positive effect on the city’s reputation.
Heathrow Terminal 5 would be huge step forward for the industry, he said, and the Open Skies agreement would provide more choice but could create a price war.
Regarding competition from the internet, he said: “There will never be a substitute for having a good travel agent working for you.
“The travel industry is expected to solve global warming. But what good would the travel industry shutting down be to our fragile economy?”
Later, speaker Flybe chairman and CEO Jim French said sorry to agents for flight problems last year:
“We had some serious operational problems at first when we took over BA Connect. I apologise for difficulties your customers experienced.”