The UKtravel industry has changed beyond recognition over the past 12 months.
No longer can independent agents rely automatically on the giant tour operators for bread and butter business. No longer can specialists feel that with hard work they stand an excellent chance of getting on the multiples’ racks.
In what has been an astonishingly short time, the giants of our industry have got even bigger and more powerful – and the bigger they get the more they will look to their own resources and outlets for their prosperity.
Yet to think that only a few years ago one could send a merchandiser into a town to visit every travel agent and be welcome at most.
A time when you could stage a roadshow secure in the knowledge that most agents would attend. A time when you could send out invitations for educationals and be virtually guaranteed an enthusiastic response.
Try all that now and it’s a different story. Send in the merchandisers today and 80% of the agents would have to be excluded.And while a roadshow might provide a great night out for counter staff, it’s almost certain that the vast majority would never dream of selling your product thanks to company policy.
So how does a sensible specialist tour operator react to these fast-changing times? I believe the Specialist Tour Operators Group could be the answer.
Certainly the initial response to my idea has been enthusiastic. Thanks to the front page story in Travel Weekly on February 17, many specialist operators and agents have given their enthusiastic backing for the fledgling association.
In short, with STOGI see a group of up to 15 non-conflicting holiday companies which offer quality programmes with a mixture of scheduled and charter flights, four and five-star hotels and/or villas and the ability to provide a tailor-made service when required.
Once this group is established we will target the 700+ travel agents who could still be described as truly independent.
We will try to ensure that we give these special agents every conceivable tool to sell our products. They will all receive fair and just commission levels.We will only insist on one thing – that we receive guaranteed racking space for our products.
Independent tour operators can still have a great future despite the upheaval in our industry – and so have independent agents.
I’m convinced STOGcould be an all-important factor in the prosperity of both.
n Gary David is managing director of Cadogan Holidays