DISCUSSIONS among delegates at last year’s ARTAC conference focused on the consortium’s uneasy tie-up with Carlson.
A year on and the conference will again be dominated by alliance talk. Only this time the partner operation is Thomas Cook.
But while the three-day gathering in Jersey this weekend will unquestionably revolve around the alliance, ARTAC chairman Colin Heal stressed it will also tackle other issues crucial to the future of the independent sector.
“Of course the tie-up with Thomas Cook is going to figure prominently but I don’t want it to overshadow the conference,” he said. “We have developed a broad spectrum of issues to debate, all of which will have a significant bearing on the future of independents. We have titled the conference 2000 and Beyond because that is what we will be doing – looking beyond the millennium.”
Service fees will again be a major issue during the year, particularly if airlines continue to reduce commission, Heal said.
It will be debated at the conference by US management guru and an expert on service charges Bruce Tepper.
“We recommend a fee of ú3 for sales under ú50 and ú1 for sales under ú25,” said Heal. “But Bruce believes we should be bolder than that so it should be an interesting debate.”
Direct marketing and quality of service are also issues that need tackling, he said.
“As the consumer becomes ever more demanding it will be more important than ever to improve service standards,” he said.
There is no question that these issues will merely be a side show to the main topic – that of ARTAC’s relationship with Thomas Cook.
The company’s retail and direct managing director Andrew Windsor will outline the aims of the alliance before being put under the spotlight by Travel Weekly editor Jeremy Skidmore.
Commercial director Mike Beaumont is also due to attend. “The relationship with Thomas Cook will not be a 5min wonder, that hopefully Andrew will demonstrate,” said Heal.
“It is also looking long term. There are plenty of benefits in having an alliance with Thomas Cook. And while Carlson was a good partner, joint marketing was difficult as the Worldchoice brand was split across two chains. But now the Carlson shops have been rebranded it leaves ARTAC with the Worldchoice brand.”