Channel Chat

The Official Voice Of ETAA

Agents witness slump in corporate travel

Andrea Lopez - Mumbai

Ravi Albert CEO Blaze Travels

After having been occupied by the zero per cent commission issue last month, agents have other woes to deal with. The rise in airfares has undoubtedly led to a slump in tourism, particularly outbound. This hasn't restricted itself to FIT and leisure travelers; MICE travel has also slowed down.

Says Ravi Albert, CEO - Blaze Travels, "On the whole, this hasn't been a great year for the tourism industry. On one side we have the airlines threatening to cut our commissions, and on the other, there has been a reduction in the volume of travellers. Even the big corporates have been cutting short their travel plans."

He added, "Also now we have seen that corporates, despite signing a deal with one travel agency, interact with many agents and get the best deal for themselves, thereby dishonoring the code. So the agent ends up being butchered not only by the airline but by the client as well."

Domestic tourism however presents a more favourable picture, so feels Albert. The market for quick monsoon weekend getaways has been quite lucrative this season. In addition to this, Albert feels that cruising is looking like a more profitable product to sell. "Cruising, although a seasonal product, has good scope, both for the agent and the traveller. The market is more for the tried and tested vessels. Now we have been seeing that the larger vessels like Costa Cruises have introduced packages that permit children to travel free. This is something relatively new and will appeal to Indians." He added that Star Cruises has been sorely missed by Indian travellers. "We have received many enquiries about the ships; hopefully they will return soon."