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Agencies to become virtual call-centres and cruise to migrate online
High street travel agencies will become virtual call-centres in the future as the dynamic packaging increasingly takes hold and fewer consumer visit shops.
This was the vision shared by lowcosttravelgroup.com chief executive Paul Evans speaking at a seminar on the development of dynamic packaging at the Travel technology Show in London.
Evans said he believed the multiples would not be able to shut shops fast enough and would be forced to turn many into call-centres with agents dealing with customers face-to-face one minute and on the phone the next.
He said travel agencies in Scandinavia have been virtual call-centres for the past five to 10 years and said the trend would soon take hold in the UK.
“Telephony going forward is absolutely crucial,” he said.
Last November Thomson announced the creation of a virtual call-centre which would drive calls to agents with the most relevant experience.
Evans also predicted further pressure on intermediaries from suppliers who are increasingly concerned about margins being driven down because price transparency.
He also predicted cruise would be the next big growth area for dynamic packaging and revealed that the lowcosttravelgroup planned to add full dynamic cruise capability to the company’s web services in the next month.
“The cruise sector is going to change quite drastically in the next three to five years,” he predicted. “I think it’s going to be fully online. It is slower to sell direct because it has been doing so well through the trade but that is going to change.”
by Linda Fox
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