The Travel Network Group is launching a petition to put pressure on the Government to scrap new rules on credit card fees.
From January 13, new legislation comes into force which will prevent agents from passing on card fees to their customers, which the trade says will ultimately push up the price of holidays.
TTNG is urging its members to sign the petition, which calls on the Government to keep credit card charges in place.
The petition says: "The travel industry is a high volume, low margin business. Please help to keep the cost of holidays down and not penalise those consumers who choose not to pay with a credit cards."
If the petition gets 100,00 signatures, it will be considered for a debate in Parliament. It will be live in the next few weeks.
TTNG said it also been talking to its business partners to see if they would be wiling to increase commission levels to help limit the impact on its members’ bottom lines.
"We got mixed feedback," Vim Vithaldas, group finance and commercial director, told delegates at this week’s TTNG Conference in Monaco.
"A handful have come to the party, some have said they would love to be able to do it but economics means it’s not possible, and the vast majority are still sitting on the fence and looking to see what competitors are doing."
In the meantime, he urged members to negotiate with merchant acquirers to reduce card charges, which can be as high as 2%.
He said TTNG was unable to negotiate on behalf of the group because rates aren’t just based on volume. Instead they depend on multiple factors, such as whether bookings are face to face or over the phone, and the destination.
"But I urge you to call up the merchant acquirers and negotiate with them. Other members have already managed to negotiate lower rates," he said.
