Mergers & acquisitions result in “less independent” agents: Fred van Eijk

Mergers & acquisitions result in “less independent” agents: Fred van Eijk
By Hannah Edensor


Fred van Eijk, who, up until yesterday, was the Managing Director of Travel Counsellors Australia, isn’t one to shy away from the big issues in the travel industry, and today is no different.

Travel Weekly caught up with him for an exclusive pow-wow on everything from acquisitions to the home-based VS brick-and-mortar battle.

See also: Travel Counsellors farewell Fred, nab industry expert as new MD

Following on from the many, many acquisitions and mergers that happened in the travel agency industry last year, van Eijk thought that these shifts could see agents become more restricted in their ability to help clients.

And wasn’t it a busy year?!

Flight Centre gobbled up hotel management firms, global agencies and Sydney-based Travel Partners – hell, even OTA rival Webjet got in on the fun! And then just as we were closing down for the year, Helloworld reveals its mega deal with Magellan.

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So what were Fred’s thoughts on all of this?

“The agency acquisitions are not necessarily a good or a bad thing, but rather just a shift in the industry that we’ve seen in Europe,” van Eijk told TW.

“Mergers and acquisitions tend to lead to a number of retail stores closing and agents seeking new opportunities in the home based model.”

According to van Eijk, these types of business moves can “result in agents becoming less independent in what they can offer their customers”, what with all the company politics and head office restrictions.

“Directional selling and preferred suppliers restrict an agents’ freedom to choose the product that is best for their client,” he said.

“As the only truly independent home-based model, Travel Counsellors agents are not dictated by suppliers or the business, providing them the ability to offer what is best for their customer, not the corporation.

“Some home-based business models are doing it better than brick-and-mortar models because they do show genuine care and offer a personal service,” van Eijk added, when we quizzed him on the mobile VS in-store rivalry.

“However, as the only truly independent travel company, Travel Counsellors provides the customer an even better offering.”

As for future threats to travel agents in general, van Eijk felt that OTAs are only bad news if your agency or offering isn’t up to scratch.

“OTAs are only a threat to travel agents who are not bringing added value to the table and not showing enough care, expertise and passion for their customers,” he told TW.

“OTA’s will be a continued threat to the agency models that are not offering that personalised level of service.”

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