VIEWPOINT: HOLIDAY NEEDS UNCHANGED.

Travel Trade Gazette UK & Ireland, July, 2004 by Martin Jones

Holidays may now be sold in many new ways but the mass-market customer wants little more than what he has always bought, says call centre boss Martin Jones

The needs of package holiday customers have changed significantly since the birth of the format in the 1960s. Or have they? The average customer now wants a flight, a transfer, accommodation and a rep to ensure they get full enjoyment of their holiday. Not that different then?

But today a holiday can be a "package" or a "dynamic package"; `dynamic' meaning the agent identifies the individual elements of a holiday from a variety of suppliers instead of relying upon the operator. This is only possible because the past five years have seen the emergence of low-cost carriers and a plethora of...