Travel agents are a worried lot. With the travel and tourism industry going through a rough patch, their problems have compounded.
The recent hikes in air fares and airlines looking to pass on more costs to the customers only spell trouble, feels the travel agents Association of India.
In a press release, the association said the credit period to travel agents has been reduced from a fortnight to a week from June. Already the commission of travel agents has been reduced to zero. This implies that travel agents have to pay more payments in a month. In effect, the customer benefit of extended credit would be hit, says Mr Imtiaz Qureshi, Chairman of the AP Chapter of the Association.
In the case of corporates also, the travel agents association said it would be difficult to offer credit facilities.
Another decision of the airlines to impose transaction costs on use of credit or debit cards soon, will put a burden on customers directly swiping their card for ticketing. These decisions, coming in the wake of the recent hike in cancellation charges from Rs 750 to Rs 900/ticket in some cases, will only make things difficult for the customers and the agents, he said in the release.