News
Travel agents take fresh look at the high costs of printed brochures
Some travel agents have resorted to charging a £1-per-copy fee for printed brochures, in a bid to offset the cost of the 300m that are printed in the UK each year.
According to a poll by Travel Weekly magazine, nearly two-thirds of travel agents said they would like to charge customers a fee for their brochures, as many people pick up copies from stores but then opt to book their holidays online.
Operators currently spend up to half of their marketing budgets on printing brochures, thought to cost around £1 each to produce.
Some industry insiders believe free brochures could soon become a thing of the past as the travel industry tightens its belt in the face of falling advertising budgets and a slowdown in demand as consumers cut their spending.
One high Street agent, Thomas Cook, told PrintWeek that it had worked on encouraging customers to recycle brochures, and in turn had reduced its print runs and therefore, its marketing costs. However the group insisted it had no plans to charge for its brochures.
A spokesperson said: "Our websites represent an area of growing business and this will no doubt have a longer-term impact on the number of brochures that we print.
"However, it is important we continue to meet the needs of all our customers, including those who prefer to browse online and those who prefer to read brochures."
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Comments
Big Mess eeeee - 07 November 2008
Print is as cheap as its ever been, perhaps ther not buying very well? If they cant build the price of a brochure into there costs \(£1) what is the world coming to!!
Mark Smith - 09 November 2008
Certain types of print should not be free. The effort, cost and environmental impact involved in producing a large, well designed brochure should be paid for, and it doesn't just apply to the travel industry. This would stop those that take a brochure and then throw it away without even reading it properly. Run lengths would come down and the final product would have a tangible value. Sounds like a good idea to me and I can see the car industry doing the same.
Robert Marsden - 10 November 2008
I've been in the print industry for years but have to admit, the Thomas Cook ebrochure is pretty compelling. It even includes advertising. Take a look: http://cde.cerosmedia.com/holidayhotspots/1E485b7832b32c5012.cde
Mark Pearson - 10 November 2008
There are a vast number of people out there that book thier holidays online and it's getting bigger all the time, even my Mum and Dad do it and they are both over 60. However they are like most/many on line holiday bookers. They base thier choice on printed brochures they get from the travel agent or order in the post, then book on line for ease \(no queue's) and possible online discounts etc. Ultimatley brochures will die off but I think the high street travel agent will be first.
Chris Lewis - 10 November 2008
I can see the frustration of travel agents that people come in to pick up brochures, and I would imagine that they rarely book in the shop.
Perhaps the answer is for the main tour operators to run showrooms like some of the car makers did a few years back. Of course, vast numbers of the agents are owned & operated by the tour operators anyway, and the ones that are independent would then be marginalised.
Another answer may be for the tour operators to give the best prices to ALL of the travel agents. Therefore, the cheapest place to buy your holiday would then be at the shop. They could add other incentives such as drinks or excursions that only come from bookings at the agent. If the operators then worked with an inteligent DM campaign that drives customers to the shop rather than the web it would make the necessary shops & brochures so much more cost effective.
In terms of the brochures, I think that I will always want a printed copy with the web to give me extra information & holiday choosing options. Although what I would want to avoid is the loads of little brochures that First Choice seem determined to offer. It can be hugely annoying to have to work your way through each countries brochure, and it tends to send me towards the nice big Skytours brochure!
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