Birmingham businessman hits out at ‘ill-informed’comments. Colin Matthews, the owner of one of the UK’s top travel agencies has spoken up in defence of the UK’s retail travel industry.
(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED KINGDOM - February 27th, 2014 - Colin Matthews, the owner of one of the UK’s top travel agencies has spoken up in defence of the UK’s retail travel industry, claiming that some remarks by John Hemming MP & Michael Gove, Education Secretary are ill-informed & untrue. ‘Gove & Hemming need to go back to school & re-do their Economics ‘O’ levels’, he said.
‘It is astonishing to hear Mr. Gove claim that travel agents are ‘ripping off’ consumers. The rise in costs at peak dates is simply the economic laws of Supply & Demand at work. Also, Mr. Hemming has no understanding of the industry at all, when he claims that travel agents are putting up prices. Any price increases are set by tour operators, not agents – however, the good news is that some agents may be able to offer discounts.’ ‘It is clear that British families are routinely paying too much for their holidays, simply because they don’t check for the best deals’.
Award-winning Travel Club Elite, based in Birmingham, has been a Member of ABTA for 28 years & says it has saved, collectively, ‘seven-figure sums’ for British holidaymakers.
‘We regularly offer savings of hundreds of pounds on a single booking’, says Matthews, ‘our great relationships with family holiday specialists such as Neilson, Mark Warner & Club Med mean that we often have exclusive deals & are able to winkle out the elusive free-child places & family rooms that others miss.’
‘Additionally, we offer our own incentives, which mean that families (or couples) could expect a minimum 5% extra savings on most holidays’.
‘If people let us have their holiday details, or wish-list & budget, before booking, we can almost always find extra savings. When it comes to holidays, every little really does help!’
‘If the Government want to do something useful on this, they should immediately introduce staggered holiday dates, to smooth peaks in demand’, added Matthews.
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