Travel agencies cry foul over new fee rule

THE new travel agent consultation fees, proposed under an industry-wide guideline that comes into effect Jan 1, might not receive full immediate support from agencies in Sarawak. Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agencies (Matta) Sarawak chairman Mathew Chen said even he was unsure whether to charge the fees at his own agency. “In a developing state like ours, sometimes certain new policies and proposals are not easily accepted. How and when agencies charge the fees will depend on the market,” Chen told reporters in Kuching yesterday, prior to a Matta roadshow to explain the fees. The fees are between RM30 for domestic inquiries and up to RM500 for the corporate sector. The Matta guideline concerns the number of quotations prospective customers requests, which the national association said must be reduced.

In a press statement, Matta claimed the new consultation fees would cut down on confusion, streamline the industry, and even improve customer service. Presently, it added, prospective customers were asking for too many revisions, and getting quotations from too many travel agencies. It said that kind of competition had in fact reduced productivity. “In fact, the Sarawak chapter is very supportive of the national association’s new initiative. This is what is done overseas too. Our long term plan is to materialise the initiative,” Chen said. The guidelines presented a chance for agencies to increase profit margins, he said.

Travel agencies, he added, had in recent years face difficulties from changing consuming trends, brought on by online ticketing. Since 2007, when online ticketing really took off, Chen said ticket sales at travel agencies had dropped by as much as 90%. Meanwhile, Matta president Datuk Mohd Khalid Harun told the press conference that “all members are expected to charge” the fees eventually. Although he did not talk about making it compulsory, Khalid said agencies should realise that it was another source of revenue for them, and that the industry should work as one. Deputy president John Tan added that a lot of work was involved in compiling quotations, “and that gone are the days of free services for customised tour packages”. “Also, corporate clients must learn that they cannot ask for 10 quotations at one time,” Tan said.
-thestar online.