Travel agents cut their losses

By ALAN PERROTT and NZPA

More cheap World Cup packages should become available this weekend after 50 heavily discounted deals were swept up in only two hours yesterday.

Travel.co.nz was forced to drop the price of its last 50 nine-day package deals from $6885 to $3990 to get rid of them before Monday.

All ticket agents had to pay up front for the non-refundable tickets. Any unsold tickets must be returned to the World Cup organisers on Monday and will then become available in Australia.

The agents' marketing manager, Roger Hawkins, said their World Cup involvement had been a nightmare, but they held off dropping their prices for as long as possible to protect the industry.

"We decided to put them on the market even though we are taking a bath on them," he said.

"We wouldn't get anything back for them anyway."

Mr Hawkins said the packages were too expensive to sell after the International Rugby Board placed a $1000 licensing fee on each package deal and Sydney hoteliers demanded minimum stays of nine days.

He was especially angered that the release of thousands of match tickets over the internet had undercut travel agents.

James Langton, president of the Travel Agents Association of New Zealand, said several major travel wholesalers had sold only half their allocation.

After the Travel.co.nz deal was announced, some buyers had asked their agents for refunds.

"It's not their fault if prices have been over the top,"said Mr Langton. "The hoteliers have jacked up their prices, some have doubled their normal rates, and the IRB threw in their huge surcharge. Talk about a monopoly."

House of Travel commercial director Tony Moffat said the company had slashed the price of its World Cup packages a month ago.

"We've been selling them at less than cost for about a month, so overall we are going to make a loss."

The company's prices were similar to Travel.co.nz's repriced packages but there was a wider range of options and the stadium seating was usually better.

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