Soaring energy costs, rising rents and bounceback loan repayments could all contribute to a tough year for agents said Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association president Mike Tibbert, who called on the government to provide business rates relief to help mitigate the crisis.
“High street agents are bracing themselves for a difficult period ahead as their own business costs rise," said Tibbert. "Many are now in the position of payments for bounceback loans at the same time as spiralling energy costs, rent reviews and the high cost of business rates.
"Support in the form of rates relief would be one measure the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association strongly supports.”
Despite the looming rise in living costs, agents are continuing to see strong demand for holidays going into 2023; Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson said customer feedback suggested “holidays will be the last thing to go”.
“We haven’t yet seen a drop in demand for holidays – the desire to travel is strong and we’re continuing to see high sales performances across the network,” said Dobson.
Tibbert agreed, adding consumers didn’t seem to have been deterred by the rising cost of holidays either. “The cost of holidays and flights is rising for 2023 journeys," he said.
"However, there still seems to be strong consumer demand from those returning from a 2022 break to rebook for 2023 despite the increases. It seems people will give up a lot before travel after a long period when travel wasn’t available to most."
Tibbert, though, cautioned that a drop in sales next year could spell a difficult period for agents: “If bookings for 2023 slow down, then next year will be yet another challenging one for agents, as they don’t receive payment for their work until travellers actually depart," he warned.
Dobson predicted consumers would likely choose to focus on value and possibly scale back their holiday spending next year as a result of the cost of living squeeze.
“We may well see a shift in customer holiday patterns," said Dobson. "For example, giving up an additional short break in favour of longer summer holidays or a rise in demand for all-inclusive or full-board basis. I do expect that customers will also be very focused on value for money."
But striking an upbeat tone, Dobson said she was confident travel agents can leverage their expertise to support consumers in booking budget-savvy holidays: "One of the ways I think travel agents will be able to support holidaymakers is helping them make their budgets go as far as possible," she said.
"Often, customers won’t necessarily know how their budgets apply to various destinations, so agents can get creative and harness their market knowledge to help achieve dream holidays.
“I’m certain there’s an opportunity for agents to continue demonstrating the benefits of booking with a trusted and reputable expert,” she added.
