UK Ferry Tickets Independence, but not as we know it

Independence, but not as we know it

Look up the word independent in the Oxford English Dictionary and you’ll find the description ‘ not depending on another for livelihood or subsistence’.

Perhaps, on that basis, independent high-street travel agents need a name change.

These retailers are absolutely dependent on commission payments from tour operators and, after a groundbreaking weekend in sunny Tenerife, are about to change the way they work.
For years, those agents that are not part of the big travel companies, TUI, Thomas Cook, First Choice and MyTravel, have prided themselves on offering customers impartial advice on a wide range of holidays.

Unfortunately for them, more people are booking online and many tour operators have decided they no longer want to pay high commissions to retailers to sell their holidays. In some cases, they don’t want to pay commissions at all.

TUI, which owns Thomson, has infuriated independent agents with its plan to cut payments altogether and drive bookings through its own website and shops.

So, three consortiums of independent retailers have formed a new grouping, called Triton, and recently got together to hold their first ever conference, in Tenerife.

There are over 2,000 agents in Triton and many agreed, in Tenerife, that they must change the way they sell holidays. They are going to push a limited number of companies that pay decent commissions.

So, from now on, if you go into these shops, you’ll be offered a lot less than before.

There’s very little chance of you being sold trips from companies belonging to TUI or First Choice, which is following suit with commission cuts.

Instead, for the time being, you’re likely to be pushed towards a holiday from Thomas Cook or MyTravel. I say for the time being, because if either of these companies significantly cuts payments, they’ll also be blacklisted.

To be fair to the independents, this makes good business sense. You can only work with the companies that are going to reward you. Retailing is not a charity.

But for the consumer, the benefits are questionable. They don’t care about the politics behind the scenes; they want a big choice of holidays at the best prices. They’ll still be able to choose from a range of good quality packages and independent trips, but that range is getting smaller.

There’s a huge drive towards booking online and this may only fuel that trend further.

Guest Article by Jeremy Skidmore