AIRLINE companies are not the only ones reeling from the higher cost of travel these days.

Local travel agents are also feeling the brunt of rising fuel cost as they are now forced to sacrifice margins just to keep rates attractive to travelers in the face of dwindling bookings.

Jose Clemente III, president of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), said they have already opted to lower their margins to between 3 percent and 5 percent for domestic flights and by an average of $20 per ticket to US and European routes just to continue enticing Filipinos to travel.

“We know that with rising plane fares, the people will be thinking twice about taking trips either domestically or abroad,” Clemente said.

By keeping their margins very low, however, Clemente said most of the travel agencies in the country are barely breaking even in their operations.

One of the problems, he noted, is that they are practically hostage to increases in fuel surcharge being imposed by the airlines.

The various carriers have jacked up their fuel surcharges in April and May.

The PTAA estimates that fuel charges represent 30 percent of an airline’s operating cost. Domestic carriers reportedly charge between P1,000 and P2,300 per passenger for fuel requirements.

For international flights, the fuel surcharges range from $100 to $500, at times even higher, depending on the destination.

The PTAA—which  accounts for 344  member-agencies, including regional and  provincial travel organizations—has also noted lower arrivals from the US and Japan.

“Arrivals from primary markets like Japan and the United States have dipped, and we can only conclude that this stems from the worldwide economic downturn and higher cost of travel,” Clemente said.

This, he said, is because the continued increase in fuel prices is forcing people when or where to travel. 

“Consequently, travel agencies are losing their long-haul markets. Traveling now is definitely more expensive than it has ever been,” he said.

He added they are now adjusting rates weekly just to stay competitive.

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AIRLINE companies are not the only ones reeling from the higher cost of travel these days.

Local travel agents are also feeling the brunt of rising fuel cost as they are now forced to sacrifice margins just to keep rates attractive to travelers in the face of dwindling bookings.

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