Travel agents down shutters against cut in commission

Major foreign airlines operating outof India had recently announced their plans to reduce the commission payable to agents from seven to five pc. The airlines stated rising operational costs as the reason behind this measure.

Angry tour agents call it an arbitrary decision, taken without consulting the travel and tourism industry. ‘‘Two years ago they had slashed the commission from 9 to 7 per cent,’’ says Sudhir Patel, director, Kesari Tours. ‘‘The recent cut is particularly unkind to us since we have gone out of our way to promote Europe.’’

TAFI members said, some European airlines directly meet corporate clients thus bypassing the agents. This, TAFI feels, is doing away with the business of its members.