Comment: Pace of change will continue
After more than eight years at Travel Today, first as launch editor and more latterly as editor at large – an always curious job title – today is my last with the publication.
It is time for a change. And change is something the travel industry is more than a little familiar with.
When I first settled in Australia from the UK in May 2006, the travel landscape was relatively settled. There was an order to the distribution chain, vertical integration was a largely foreign concept, Qantas was dominant and reform of travel agent licensing was so remote is was hardly worthy of discussion.
It is fair to say that times have changed, and changed dramatically, on all fronts.
Flight Centre was, and remains the powerhouse of travel retailing, and it’s hard to see that altering any time soon. But that has been one of the few constants.
The announcement this week of its plans to create a joint venture Destination Management Company is the next step in Flight Centre’s vertical integrated strategy. No longer content to be the “middleman”, Flight Centre wants to control and take greater ownership of the product it sells.
While Flight Centre has remained stable and strong and grown organically and through small-scale acquisition, its largest competitor has been stuck in an almost constant state of disarray.
Life is too short to recap the trials and tribulations – and moments of optimism – of the company through its various guises (think MFS and Stella). Suffice to say that over the past eight years, travel agents involved with Harvey World Travel, Jetset, Travelworld and Travelscene American Express have undergone almost continual upheaval.
At times, watching the evolution – if that is the right word – of the group has been akin to watching the proverbial car crash. It hasn’t been pretty. Impossible to look away, but not pretty.
Over time, maybe Helloworld will be the answer. But it’s going to be a long road.
Elsewhere, the rise of the home working groups has been rapid – and there’s certainly no love lost between the various networks – while Magellan, which began life as a breakaway group of disaffected Travelscene Amex agents, has become a genuine force.
On the wholesale front, many are being increasingly squeezed, even marginalized in some cases, and life is not about to get easier. The creation of The Maestro Group – an organisation which puts travel agents in direct touch with overseas suppliers – is symptomatic of the changing face of distribution. Not only are consumers finding new ways to book, agents’ themselves are getting in on the act and cutting out the middleman.
It’s also been fascinating to watch the changing face of aviation in Australia, both domestically and internationally. Competition has intensified dramatically with Qantas often the one to suffer.
The evolution of Virgin Blue into Virgin Australia and its powerful gang of shareholders, the launch into the domestic market of Tigerair, the rise of the Chinese airlines and continual growth of the Gulf carriers have all eroded the power of Qantas.
As for cruising, the transformation from the scandal-ridden industry of the early 2000s to the thriving growth sector that is it now has been nothing short of remarkable.
Rather than report on such matters, I will now be an interested observer.
At Travel Today, we have always tried to provide a little more substance to stories and industry issues, rather than take the option of simply rehashing press releases.
That is where we have tried to be different. I am sure that approach will continue.
But that's it from me. A heartfelt thanks to the many people in the industry who have helped make the last eight years so enjoyable and interesting.
I like to think our paths will cross again.
For anyone who is interested, I can be reached at stevepjones100@hotmail.com.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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