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Advantage conference: ABTA still relevant, claims Tanzer
ABTA’s current repatriation of holidaymakers from Kenya following foreign office advice about terror threats, and work on providing refunds for 1,300 customers of failed company Villa Parade, shows the association is still relevant according to chief executive Mark Tanzer.
The number of physical travel agency locations has fallen from 7,215 to 4,016 since 2004, but Tanzer said it still had a huge role to play.
"Our product is often intangible and people want re-assurance," he said. "The industry has changed shape, but actually overall revenues have gone up.
"We’ve gone through a lot of change. Some of our members haven’t made it and others have adapted. In travel we’ve given people lots of options, but actually they need guidance to get what they want."
Tanzer was speaking in a panel discussion with Guild of Travel Management Companies chief executive Paul Wait, moderated by Advantage corporate director Ken McLeod.
Wait said the need for advice and help was as great as ever.
"I’ve been in the industry for 41 years but still need some advice on where to go this summer," he said.
Wait described business travel as an investment, rather than a cost.
"The performance of UK plc got worse when we didn’t travel – if you don’t travel you don’t trade – and business that haven’t travelled haven’t done as well in the recession."
He told delegates not to believe that price was the only thing that mattered to customers.
"I would focus on convincing the market place about how good we are at doing something that will take the consumer a long time. Think about how people buy – don’t believe the propaganda that everyone buys on price."
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