The Carnival response to the
planned Travel Industry
Transition Plan warns of a more
direct sales approach.
CRUISE giant Carnival Australia has built its
business on strong relationships with the travel
industry, but according to a submission to the
government’s inquiry into the proposed
consumer protection reforms, it may consider
alternative methods of distribution.
The submission shows that Carnival is
concerned about the removal of the Travel
Compensation Fund as well as travel agency
licensing requirements – as already agreed on
by government ministers in jurisdictions from
across the country.
The Carnival submission to the Policy and
Research Advisory Committee of CAANZ says
that of the 190,000 bookings made through
Carnival Australia in 2011, more than 81%
were made by licensed travel agents who are
currently covered by the TCF.
However it claims that if the changes that are
in the process of being implemented are
finalised, in the case of an agent collapse
“there will be significant pressure on the
operator to honour the booking even if the
fault lies with the travel agent.
“This will inevitably mean operators such as
us will need to reassess the ways in which we
use agents as a distribution channel,” the
submission warns.
And it spells out exactly what that means,
stating that “without a collective approach to
ensuring the financial stability of agents, we
may find it more attractive to drive direct sales”.
Other possible actions foreshadowed include
following the example of “certain UK
operators” who insist that customers pay
Carnival directly for their bookings when they
use an agent, and “this might in turn have an
effect on the usage of travel agents”.
Other mitigation against the risk of dealing
with insolvent agents “might mean smaller
agents are not given the opportunity to sell an
operator’s products if they cannot meet
whatever criteria the operator puts in place”.
Asked to comment, Carnival told CW it
believed it was “essential for the regulators to
understand the importance of maintaining
appropriate safeguards for consumers,” adding
that it believes its relationship with agents will
“continue to grow and prosper”.
