Death of a salesman: travel agents. (travel agent profits declining)(Business)

From: The Economist (US) | Date: September 23, 1995 | Copyright information

Consumers and suppliers are forcing changes in the travel industry that are cutting into travel agent profits. Suppliers, such as airlines, are capping travel agent commissions. Consumers are increasingly booking direct, bypassing travel agents altogether.

LAST year some $170 billion swilled through travel agencies in Europe and America. The World Tourism Organisation predicts that the industry it follows, arguably the world's biggest, will grow in real terms by 3.7% a year until 2010. Most estimates of spending on air travel or leisure are similarly optimistic. So you would think that ...

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