Travel Agent Reputation Diminishes With Every Travel Agency Collapse
The travel industry has unfortunately this week received further negative consumer press with the 09 March announcement that Gold Coast based travel company Australian Escapes has been placed into voluntary administration. As reported in Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph and the Gold Coast Bulletin on 16 March and the 22 March smartcompany.com.au e-newsletter, with “well in excess of 15,000 consumers affected.”
TravelManagers’ Chairman Barry Mayo says the question must be asked – what are the views of the individual state governments to the increasing number of travel agency collapses and resulting consumer losses after having abandoned the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF)?
“If nothing else, the significant number of Australian consumers that have incurred losses as a direct result of eight reported collapses since May 2015 prove consumer protection against a minority of travel agent insolvencies is clearly an issue.”
TravelManagers is a true customer advocate and Mayo has consistently lobbied following the closure of the TCF for the industry to retain some form of industry-wide consumer protection.
“The situation being experienced by Australian Escapes’ members and customers from previous travel agency collapses is precisely what TravelManagers was fearful of when it first voiced its concerns. I’m confident the now reportedly thousands of customers out of pocket due to recent travel agency collapses would wholeheartedly support an independent consumer protection component being a requirement for industry participation in an accreditation scheme,” says Mayo.
Mayo strongly believes the state governments are guilty of disbanding the TCF without ensuring the travelling public was provided with an effective form of consumer protection against travel agent insolvency.
“It can no longer be disputed that consumer losses now being experienced are as a direct result of state governments disbanding the TCF and replacing it with an industry accreditation scheme that fails to demand robust financial criteria or deliver consumer protection. Government and individual members of the industry must now acknowledge these consumer losses are not going to cease and recognise that an accreditation scheme without consumer compensation is worthless from both consumer and industry perspectives.”
Mayo highlights that the travel industry as a whole needs to be concerned with the declining consumer confidence in travel agents that grows with each negative media report.
“The real risk to the travel agent community is that more and more people will lose confidence in travel agents and may opt to book directly with suppliers both in Australia and overseas. How many customers and potential customers will now choose to book their travel arrangements direct with individual suppliers instead of obtaining the professional advice and benefits a travel agent will provide? It will be future bookings that will be affected and when the impact of negative press in the consumer realm starts to really become apparent.”
Mayo believes the question that the state governments needs to answer is simple.
“Will the state governments take action to insist on an alternative and independent form of consumer protection against travel intermediary insolvency that is consistent and universal before more consumers are out of pocket and the integrity of the Australian travel agent industry is further compromised?”
“Why do the state governments find this so hard to answer?” asks Mayo.