I AM continually amazed that Noel Josephides can find time to write his weekly column when I have difficulty to find time to put finger to keyboard just to take up reference to my heartfelt passion – proper charges for the industry to allow the industry to pay proper intelligent staff.
This would lead to a restructuring of the tourist industry. There would be cheap holidays in those areas already coping with mainstream tourism and more realistic prices for the other beautiful and less frequented areas of the world. There is something inherently wrong in trying to increase tourism in very beautiful off the beaten track areas.
Noel has quoted me in championing charges for brochures (Travel Weekly February 24); just one way which would really improve the revenue of all tour operators. I think larger companies who merely send out brochure after brochure and base their figures on conversions rates are not perhaps quite so aware of what waste is incurred by brochure hunters and how much revenue could be made by charging for these.
Charging for brochures would also make enormous paper and environmental savings, pressures of sorting huge brochures in travel agents could be reduced and the travel agents could decide individually whether to pass these charges onto the clients. There would be a refund on confirmation of booking. Loyal agents would not be asked to put the money up front until the brochures had been ‘sold’ and all should be allowed returns at the end of the year for unsold copies.
Prospective clients would be asked to pay for brochures taken home and perhaps refunded when they returned the brochures unmarked. Perhaps the travel agents should be awarded commission on brochures sold? Then everyone would be in pocket, holiday prices could be reduced because not so many surplus brochures would be produced and discounts could become a thing of the past.
Suzi Stembridge, Managing director, Filoxenia Ltd,Halifax, West Yorkshire