SPAA president Jimmy Martin (pictured right) has slammed ‘horrendous’ discounting and ‘ridiculous margins’ in the cruise sector.
Speaking at the Scottish agents’ annual dinner, Martin said discounting continued to be rife in the leisure sector and cruise in particular.
He said: “It is ludicrous to believe that making £20 on a £4,000 booking is a big deal … it is this sort of crazy discounting that is dragging good agents down.”
Martin said the levels of discounting were not down to the cruise lines but to agents trying to achieve volume in order to get a “kickback or override”.
He added: “When you do the sales and the override does not arrive, you know you took the wrong deal.”
Martin also called for answers on the issue of Scottish independence.
He said agents need to know more before they can make an informed choice in the upcoming referendum.
“We cannot decide which way to vote unless we have all the relevant evidence, and have it put clearly in front of us,” he said.