NEWS


Agents who comply at once with new ‘total pricing’ rules fear they will appear expensive compared with rivals that are slow to adapt


Agents concerned CMA’s pricing rules will create ‘two-tier’ market


Juliet Dennis and Ella Sagar


Travel agents fear new pricing rules set by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will confuse customers and could penalise those in compliance if prices appear higher than those of non-compliant rivals. They also say many operators


have yet to make the required changes to systems ahead of the three-month deadline for implementation. The CMA issued


note to show the exchange rate used to calculate destination charges. Agents report that complying


with the new rules is time-consuming and “needlessly complicated”, and said very few customers had raised a complaint about fees in destination. Some agents warn the changed


STORY TOP


guidance in November on requirements that all unavoidable fees and taxes payable in destination be included in total prices, and sent letters to about 100 businesses warning they had three months to comply or risk enforcement action. As Travel Weekly has previously


reported, the rules require firms to show a ‘total price’, with the amount to ‘pay now’ and the amount to ‘pay at the property’, plus an explanatory


travelweekly.co.uk


regulations risk creating false price differences between companies adhering to the rules by presenting higher ‘all-in prices’ and those which don’t, particularly while firms adjust to the change. Others say they have


invested in new tools and training and redesigned


advertising, while many operators


have yet to adjust their pricing. Agents have also highlighted


concerns about using ready-made deals from operators, the difficulties of dynamic packaging using bed banks, and complications of fluctuating exchange rates and city fees yet to be confirmed for 2027 and 2028. The Travel Network Group


and Advantage Travel Partnership


confirmed they were preparing members for compliance, but TTNG chief operating officer Stephanie Slark warned differing speeds of adoption across the trade “may lead to short-term differences in how prices appear”. Agents urged all operators to


adjust prices on booking systems and on promotional offers, with Fred Olsen Travel retail director Paul Hardwick adding: “We are looking to take a lead from our supplier partners.” Idle Travel director Tony Mann


said “the majority” of operators were yet to include full pricing in offers, noting: “I’m hoping for a quick change where they all come in line (so we) don’t look more expensive.” Deben Travel owner Lee Hunt


said multi-centre quotes were particularly difficult, and that the agency’s current window cards allowed room for only one price. He added: “[In the past] we’d


only find out taxes when people booked; now, we have to do it on all enquiries.”


Blue Bay Travel personal travel


consultant David Coulter said there was a risk of “a two-tier system”, as customers would be drawn to non- compliant prices, especially online, and said customers could be confused about the upfront cost to pay. Simon Clark-Jones, chief


executive of Your Travel Consultant, said agencies risked being “caught out” and flagged the challenge of using bed banks and flight consolidators which would not ordinarily calculate additional costs. Henbury Travel managing


director Richard Slater said agents needed clearer examples from the CMA of how pricing should look and said he had highlighted the issue to his consumer media contacts. Daniele Broccoli, managing


director of trade-only operator Typically Holidays, said local fees payable in destination had “never been a problem” during his 40 years in travel, with the changes creating a “needless complication”, particularly for multi-centre trips.


19 FEBRUARY 2026 5


PICTURES: Shutterstock/Sven Hansche, Moiz 8008


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