Tenerife Cheap Flights are causing misery to High Street Travel Agents

Cheap flights are cuasing misery to high street travel agents and could eventually cost jobs our leading resident travel expert has said.

Holidaymakers looking for a cheap family holiday for 2010 are being advised to book cheap flights to Tenerife and quality hotels in Tenerife to save much needed money during the credit crunch.

Holiday prices for 2009 have seen an increase even though there is a credit crunch on and more and more people are opting to stay at home due to high Street Package holidays and lack of money during this hard financial time. But 2010 is not going to get cheaper in fact a large range of holidays being offered by Thomas Cook, First Choice and Thomson are increasing in price to the shock of loyal customers who have been booking year in year out with the high street travel agents.

Our In2town Lifestyle Magazine resident Travel Expert Chantelle Ellis has said:    “High Street Travel Agents such as First Choice who have now joined forces with Thomson has cut down on the number of Hotels they are offering and instead concentrating more on a select number of hotels which would be easier to fill. Instead of bringing down the prices of holidays for 2010 they have instead increased the prices even though in my opinion they will struggle to sell holidays next at these high rise prices due to the credit crunch and also with the world cup being on.”

The cheapest offerings for Holidays at the present moment are Tenerife if booked separate. With airline prices being low to Tenerife and hotels in Tenerife offering great reductions more and more people are now understanding that they can save hundreds of pounds by booking cheap flights and booking hotels without the need to go to their travel agents.

One Member of staff at First Choice Travel Agents who did not wish to be name said: “We are finding that the customers who would come to us each year are now fading away and instead they are booking their holidays online with prices that we cannot compete against. Although we offer a great customer service, our customers are finding that they can book flights to holiday destinations and hotels at a much cheaper price that we can offer”

It does sound like a strange business move to increase prices for holidays when there is so much competition out there from online travel agents and cheap flights websites that can offer cheap flights and hotels at a great reduction than a travel agent can.

The First Choice member of staff continued: “We are finding that potential customers are coming into our shop and asking about holidays, where we will do all the ground work but when they have all the details about the holidays a large number of them do not come back and book them with us and instead they go online and book their holiday. I can understand customers wanting to do this but it does make me worry how long travel agents in the high street can continue to lose customers and if my job will be safe in the next few years.”

Tenerife has become a cheaper destination to take a vacation compared to places like Benidorm, which has become more expensive due to its popularity and the exposure of the ITV series titled ‘Benidorm’