Package proposals divide experts Ian Taylor
Leading industry consultants disagree on a government proposal to remove UK domestic packages from the Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) but are united in rejecting plans for a minimum cost threshold at which the regulations apply. The Department for Business
and Trade launched a 12-week call for evidence on reform of the PTRs last week, with proposals either to remove domestic packages wholly from the regulations or to remove those excluding transport. There was a surprise proposal to remove packages below an unspecified price
as well as an expected proposal to scrap Linked Travel Arrangements. Speaking at Travel Weekly’s Future
of Travel Conference last week, Themis Advisory director Jo Kolatsis insisted domestic packages should remain within the PTRs, arguing it made no difference whether travel is included. She said: “I can get stuck in
Scotland the same way I can get stuck in France. It’s shocking that the consultation’s very first paragraph talks about easing regulations for holidaymakers on UK holidays. We shouldn’t make that differentiation.” However, industry accountant
Chris Photi of White Hart Associates insisted domestic holidays “should be out of the PTRs”, saying: “Pay
It’s shocking that
the very first paragraph talks about easing rules on UK holidays
with a credit card, that is my advice.” Travel Trade Consultancy director
Martin Alcock noted: “We had a big coach operator [Shearings] fail in 2020. Vulnerable people travelling would still need to get home.” He added: “I don’t think all
domestic packages should be exempt. There are grey areas, for example around a hotel and golf. That doesn’t need the same oversight. There is an
argument for exempting everything that does not include transport, but then you’re into this grey area, con- fusing the definition of a package.” However, all three opposed a
minimum cost threshold at which the PTRs should apply. Kolatsis said: “Congratulations if you’re trying to create a loophole in the regulations. Why should there be a difference in protection depending on what you pay? The industry wants clarity so consumers know what they’re getting.” Alcock argued: “You could get
some of the most vulnerable people not getting protection.” Photi agreed, insisting a holiday booking “has to be
definitely in or out” of protection. i Business, page 62
AI ‘can augment agents but will not replace them’
Ian Taylor
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) can be deployed to “empower travel agents” and not replace them, according to Simon Powell, chief executive of travel technology firm Inspiretec. Powell told the Travel Weekly
Future of Travel Conference in London last week: “We need to augment travel agents, provide them with the technology and help them to do a better job.” Speaking on a panel on AI, in which interest exploded after the
6 28 SEPTEMBER 2023
launch of ChatGPT last November, Powell insisted: “This is a game changer, but it isn’t going to replace the travel agent. “We’ve been talking about the
death of the agent for the 35 years I’ve been in the industry. We’re putting this [AI technology] in front of our users who are agents.” He explained: “I sat for two days
with my team showing me how we could benefit [from generative AI], and it blew my mind. You can ask it to write code, ask it to write code in the style of your business, ask it to write a test case and test the code,
Panellists Jay Chauhan (left), Google; Ellena Ronca- Thompson, Deloitte; and Simon Powell, Inspiretec
and then ask it to write the user documentation. This is going to revolutionise systems development.” Powell added: “I recently started
an online cruise business and all the content we generate has been through ChatGPT.” He noted: “We’re not at the
point where content is going straight out to the end user because it isn’t mature enough. We’re in the early days of this and curating the content, checking it’s valid, is safer.”
But he insisted: “As an industry we
need to adopt it. We need to empower agents because if we don’t, we’re going to miss out on an awful lot.” Deloitte director and digital and
analytics consultant Ellena Ronca- Thompson advised attendees: “Allow your tech teams to get started with the technology to determine ways of working and the safety environments they want in place, and experiment
internally before you [go to market].” i Conference report, page 10
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURE: Sarah Lucy Brown
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