WITH the Western world waging war on terrorism, the next few months would appear to be crucial for the district's independent travel agents.

The crisis is most apparent in the fortunes of many international airlines. Most have made mass redundancies while the prices of long-haul fares are drastically increasing, making the prospects of flying doubly daunting for people still willing to travel.

But travel agents too are bearing the brunt of the downturn in holidaying abroad.

The St Albans Travel Service in Spencer Road has seen bookings drop by as much as 50 per cent. Owner Stuart Harding says that his company's independence is both its strength and its weakness.

He said: "We are unique in the city centre as an independently owned company.

"We have no parent company or multinational overseeing us or pumping funds in and to that extent we are more vulnerable.

"However, our strength is that we have made our position very successful over the years in that we offer a tailor made service. Our staff are all hugely experienced and because we are not restricted by tour operators we can sell a holiday anywhere in the world."

In a bid to drum up more custom, Mr Harding is to write to the thousands of customers on the company database reminding them of the personalised services on offer.

"This is a case of 'use it or lose it'," said Mr Harding. "We need more bookings if St Albans Travel Service is going to survive."

Sightsee Travel based in the Quadrant is also feeling the pinch. Partner Mr Richard Heritage says that he knew what to expect the moment the September 11 attacks took place.

He said: "We have been through this before with the Gulf War and the Falklands. People do not want to travel during any international conflict and quite frankly I do not blame them.

"But we are not panicking. The leisure industry as a whole is suffering and it is suffering enormously. You can't forget that if people do not fly then they will not be eating out in those places, nor will they be getting taxis or staying in hotels so the knock-on effect is pretty horrendous.

"This was a lightning strike and more damaging than a recession in that the effects are immediate but we've been through it before and survived and we can again."

Mr Heritage also pointed out that domestic travel will not necessarily pick up as a result of fewer people travelling abroad.

He said: "This is not a case of alternatives. The markets are completely different and people who want a few weeks in the sun will not opt for a few days at York Minster instead."

One positive for both companies was that business travel remained largely unaffected by the conflict. Indeed, with fewer people travelling for pleasure, independent agents are turning to niche markets in an attempt to make up the shortfall.

Ms Rosie Rajah is the manager of AVR Global Travel on London Road.

She said that bookings were well down on normal October half-term holiday figures but that people were planning more holidays for the future and other services such as wedding and honeymoon holidays were performing well.

She said: "People are more dubious about flying and we know this is going to hit us but we think we can weather the storm."

October 15, 2001 20:48

Aaron Bateman