ABTA 2004: Agents still needed by 85% of people

Friday, 29 Nov, 2004 0

ABTA Convention Special: Travel agents should be optimistic about the future as only 15% of people will never use their services, the ABTA Convention audience heard.

Malcolm Preston, a partner with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, told ABTA delegates in the session “Half empty or Half full” that the so-called “wired” generation booked everything on line. Even if they used an agent it would be for information only before completing the transaction themselves.

“Don’t waste your time with them, just politely get them out of your door as soon as possible,” said Preston.

But he said the rest of the population were potential users of retailers, provided they were sold the right product.

Preston said 15 per cent of people were “tabloiders” who read tabloid newspapers. He claimed the majority do not book no-frills flights or use the Internet and so there was huge potential for selling them holidays in the future.

He also said the 16 per cent of “actives”, who enjoy going on adventure holidays, also used retailers.

“I’m in that bracket and I’ve just been to Namibia with my family. But I didn’t book it myself. I need an agent to show me what to book and an operator to put it together for me.”

Preston claimed the rest would at some stage use a travel agent if the product was right.

“If you ask me whether the cup is half empty or half full, I would definitely say it is half full,” he said.

Moderator John Stapleton asked Preston how agents could identify the different types of people.

“It’s not easy, especially if you haven’t seen them before, but with training you can ask the right questions to find out about their requirements,” he said.

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Ginny McGrath

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