Travel agents are being encouraged to cash in on the volume of luggage airlines lose each year by offering their customers a trackable tagging service.
Tag ‘n’ Traq from CallUma gives travellers a unique tracking number – which removes the need to include names and addresses on luggage – and international phone numbers to connect baggage handlers to assistants who can speak their language worldwide, 24 hours a day.
Once the luggage is tracked the customer can then arrange for their bags to either be sent to their holiday destination or home.
According to the company, agents can make as much as 50% commission on the tags, which cost £4.95 for an annual subscription and can be used on international or domestic travel on suitcases, laptop bags or children’s school bags.
Recent figures from the Air Transport Users Council claimed 42 million bags were lost worldwide in 2007 – a figure which could rise to 70 million bags a year by 2019.
CallUma founder and chief executive Tony Partridge said: “Since the AUC figures came out about the massive numbers of lost bags last year we have been inundated with queries from the trade asking how they can help their customers avoid this.
“We have had great feedback from customers who have been reunited with their bags just four hours after making the call to us, it’s saved a lot of people a lot time, stress and arguments and thanks to the publicity about the problem of lost baggage this is a great opportunity for agents to offer their clients a real solution.”