I thought this thread I had started had died and only have just seen the latest posts.
I am a travel agent.
I am convinced that there will be very few of us left in a year.
(When i talk about travel agents I mean street level or shopping centre shops open to the public -not business travel agents that are usually located in offices)
I opened my first shop in Dublin city centre thirty years ago. Until a few years ago I had five branches and have slowly but carefully been closing them.
I'm now left with one which until now is trading profitably,but i'm in an area where people don't use the intnet or credit cards so much and prefer the personal touch.
Most of travel agents are not so lucky.....
In County Dublin there are now only 20 independent retail travel agents
(i.e. shops that are not owned by tour operators, but even they are closing their own retail outlets. ). I think only two are under fifty.
Most travel agencies in Ireland now have only a couple of staff.
There are many reasons why the business is declining. The internet has caused a steady decline -but the main reason for the recnt spate of closures is that for the last year people are booking far less travel; certainly of high value.
High rents are also big problem -hence only a handful of Dublin city centre agents.
And the cost of obtaining the travel agents bond,the obligatory audited accounts(no self-assessment as with many small traders) and other government regulations are a burden not share by internet providers.
And now VAT !! -which still has not been explained to us. The formal guidance notes mentioned by Rambo above clarify nothing. Does the new VAT regulations from 1 January mean that we now get involved with VAT on anything we sell as a so-called "principal" - a flight and hotel booking? Just a flight? A booking fee? What exactly ?
The VAT rule may be the last straw for me. I'm old and don't need more paperwork.
The only thing that will save many retail travel agents is a quick return to recent travel patterns -and/or the collapse of a large direct-sell tour operator that still has several branches around the country.
Do I sound a tad pessimistic? Well, there may be hope for ambitious optimists like "missc" above who I'm sure won't be crazy enough to fit out and pay rent for a well located shop. A pleasant office upstairs at a quarter of a shop rent offering up-market or unusual travel services may be the way to go...
Thats what i'd do if I hadnt have turned into a grumpy old pessimist.
Anyway, "missc" you're welcome to ask me any questions about opening a travel agency.Maybe 10% of what i tell you may be useful!
Good Luck.
p.s. If any of the contributors to this thread actually know what the new VAT rule means in practise PLEASE tell me ? I'm asking exactly the same question as at the start of this thread two months ago. i've rang and written to the VAT people and am constantly told -with increasing embarrasment I suspect- that guidance notes "are on the way"