Understanding the UK Tourism Industry
“50% discount!”
“Cut out the middle man”
"Cheap on the web!"
“Free Insurance for the whole year!”
“Book straight and save!”
“No Booking Fees!”
Confused? You know the difference between a travel agent, a travel operator and a link. Do you know who provides the best deals? Is free insurance with a 20% discount better than a 50% discount? The UK tourism industry is a minefield and mining machinery is nowhere to be seen. 'Understanding UK Travel Industry' is our attempt to clear up some confusion and advise you along the way. We do not pretend to be impartial and acknowledge that our opinion does not reflect the views of others in the business, but we do try to be honest and present the facts as we see them. I hope you find the pages useful.
TRAVELING STAFF
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Tour operators combine a variety of general holiday items and sell them as package holidays. They sell their packages directly to the public and / or tourism agents. Vacation costs can vary greatly between tour operators (see examples). When they sell to tourism retailers, they pay a commission (usually a percentage of the holiday price) on the agent. Most people are familiar with tourist drivers such as Airtours, Thomson and JMC. Such tour operators offer a wide range of vacations and a wide range of destinations, and their purchasing power guarantees reasonable prices. However, do not forget that there are thousands of other tour operators out there. Many are small operators, focusing on specific markets or areas. and their prices can be very competitive. Travel operators are subject to a lot of criticism from consumer groups and viewers. However, there are some very good operators and very poor operators, we believe that in general, customer service in the tourism industry is left unpopular (at all levels, including operator-agent, consumer-agent and consumer-to-consumer).
Understand Sell
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Some tourism operators will only sell their package holidays directly to the consumer, surpassing the travel agent. Some will be sold by tourism retailers and targeted at the consumer while others will only be sold by tourism retailers. “Isn't it cheaper to buy right away?” You may ask. The answer is “well, maybe sometime, if… and yet…”. Let's explain… First we need to clear up the misconception that comes from the sad series of TV commercials. These ads are designed to discourage tourists. One in particular, has pointed out that tourism has increased the commission of tour operators' prices and therefore charged the client VERY more than the prices quoted. This is not entirely true and has led to complaints from the ITC (Independent Television Commission), which were supported. The ITC also required the broadcaster to stop distributing the ad in its current form. The fact is, customers booked through travel agents at no more than the prices quoted. In most cases, they actually pay less than the amount quoted from the operator because travel agents often reimburse their other commission to the client as a discount. More details and the ITC decision can be found here. Tour operators do not want to discriminate between tourists and as a result, you can usually get the same prices for both tourism and 'directing' operators. Our operators who sell directly to the public can offer a good price. They do not pay commissions to travel agents who should allow them to sell holidays that are a little cheaper than what they did. However, remember that:
* The tourism operator has additional costs to support the client which would be traditionally borne by the tourism agency (resort and accommodation details, visa and health requirements, change of booking etc.
* there may be similar (or very similar) cheap holidays with other tourism operators, however, direct sales operators will not offer the client competitor products to the client, unlike an independent tourism agent. Equally there can be suitable holidays that can be found with other tourism managers.Our advice: - buy only from a 'direct sell' seller if you are sure which holiday you want and that no other cheap operator.
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TRAVEL TRAVELERS
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Travel Agents are not agents for tourists. Usually, they sell package holidays (and other products / services) on behalf of the tour operator and are paid a commission or money by the tour operator for doing so. In addition to package holidays, most travel agents will offer other products and services such as:
* Tourism Insurance
* Flights
* Car Rental
* Crossing the Boat
* Train tickets
* Advice and information
Independence
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Many of the UK's largest Highway travel agents are actually owned by companies with UK tour operators. We view this as 'independent'. Independent travel agents are independent of their providers, and often, therefore, have more freedom to offer a wider range of products to tourism users In our view, independent tourists will always have greater difficulty in providing a more impartial service to their customers.
Scope of products / services
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The range of products / services offered varies from travel agent to travel agent. In particular, the number of tour operators supported by agents varies widely. Many 'High Street' tourism agencies will only promote and sell certain tour operators' holidays. Their ‘striking policies’ govern what brochures they will display in their stores and this is usually determined by trade agreements with tourism retailers. Basically, when you charge more than the operator pays, chances are their brochures will be destroyed. In addition, if the tourism agency is not independent, this could have a significant impact on which tourism operators are promoted in those policies limiting the number of tourism professionals actively promoted by retailers. Holidays from most operators are not for sale at all. During the Bargains holidays, we are often asked by our customers, "Well why didn't Lunn Poly give me that one?" (with "Lunn Poly", you can also read other travel agents for 'High Street'). The difference is that we do not operate a 'racking policy' and we will not limit our list of providers based on the commission they pay. Naturally, at the time of writing, one of our Holiday Bargains advisers had been inquiring about an employee of a major tourism company on ‘High Street’, who, obviously, could not get the holiday they wanted at the same price as we could. (We found this holiday with a young driver who is not part of the same team as a travel agent).
Choosing a Travel Agent
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(Yes, it is obvious to come, but we sincerely believe it.) Our advice is to always book with an independent travel agent. However, we believe you will be able to find:
* independent advice and guidance
* an agent who is free to use a variety of tour operators and other providers.
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