The recently-appointed president of Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA) has warned the industry is at a “crossroads” as it starts to emerge from the pandemic.
Mike Tibbert, general manager, Europe, at Global Marine Travel, issued a reminder that there would likely be another pandemic in the future, so it was vital the sector put necessary structures in place now.
Speaking at the SPAA’s annual dinner in Glasgow this evening (Thursday, February 24), Tibbert spoke of how the public recognised the value of booking through a travel agent but warned that current agency staffing levels were a “major issue”.
He said: “The subsequent commercial and human cost to our industry has been devastating. Lots of organisations have been badly-affected and for many years to come major investment, research and development and people investment projects will, unfortunately, be on hold or greatly reduced.
“The metaphor, perhaps, could be we are at a crossroads. Do we turn in one direction and begin a new era of co-operation or revert to the status quo position so widely held before, where the industry did not appear to stand together?”
Tibbert noted that while there would inevitably be a change of “some sort”, the “deal breaker” would be the “pace of change” in travel.
“In the simplest of terms let’s make sure of all prospective short-term and long-term implications before committing to something that may well be commercially unviable,” he said, adding that “the prevailing view is not ‘will there be another pandemic’ but ‘when will it occur?’.”
“We must not become complacent, but we do need to be prepared or at the very least acknowledge the possibility [of another pandemic],” he explained.
The public sentiment right now leaned towards travel agents, Tibbert (pictured) added. “The public recognises the value of talking to a professional consultant,” he said. “When things do go wrong we need that professional capacity that an agent offers.
“Let’s not throw out the travel agent with the bath water. The pandemic and previous industry crises like volcanic ash eruptions, data leakage, strikes and many others have only proven again and again the value that the agent brings to the chain.”
He offered a note of caution about staffing levels among agency members. “We lost so many good professionals as they became battle weary and were no longer prepared to work in an industry where every booking takes 10 times longer to complete,” he said.
“The Passenger Locator Form was and still is a nightmare for many people and became a barrier to people travelling.”
He said the SPAA welcomed the government’s promise to review the PLF by Easter this week and called for all remaining travel restrictions to be eased.
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