Travel agents: Heads above warter

Contrary to the view that internet booking sites have killed the travel agency business, US agents appear to have their heads just above water.

Reporting on US airline ticket sales, ARC, a financial settlement link between airlines and travel sellers, reported Monday that consolidated dollar value of airline tickets sold by US-based travel agencies increased by a marginal 1.05%* year-over-year in the first three quarters of 2013 compared to the same period last year.

Sales totaled US$67.3 billion as opposed to US$66.6 billion in 2012. Sales for September 2013 were US$7 million, a 7% increase over September 2012.

As of 30 September, ticket transactions for 2013 were basically flat at -0.81% over the same period in 2012 to 111 million. Year-to-date passenger segments decreased 2% to 277.6 million compared to 283.2 million in the eight months of 2012 and 283.3 million in 2011.

More detailed information is available at https://www.arccorp.com/news/stat/2013-09.jsp.

Most travel agencies in the US are no longer commission-based. They sell tickets and add a pre-arranged service fee to the customer very much like low-cost airlines automatically add administration fees when travellers book a flight.

In Asia, service fees rather than commissions remains a debatable point particularly in markets like Thailand, although it now it is widely adopted as the correct business model in Singapore and Malaysia.

ARC powers the US-based travel network with premier business solutions, travel agency accreditation services, process and financial management tools, and powerful data analytics.

In 2012, ARC settled US$84 billion worth of carrier ticket transactions for more than 9,400 travel agencies with 15,000 points of sale.

By providing business services and products, ARC enables participating agencies and 191 carriers to focus on increasing their revenue. Established in 1984, ARC is headquartered in Arlington, Va. (PRnewswire).

*Ticket Sales

• Results based on monthly sales data ending 30 September 2013 from 13,650 US-based retail and corporate travel agent locations, satellite ticket printing offices and online travel agencies.

• Results do not include sales of tickets purchased directly from airlines.

• Total sales are equal to the total amount paid for a ticket, which includes taxes and fees.

Sourced: ttrweekly