Polls

In 2022, is offsetting your carbon footprint more important to your clients than in 2019?
Yes (19%)
Unsure (28%)
No (53%)
As business recovers, what are the top 3 challenges for agents? (Choose 3)
Shortage of airline seat capacity (18%)
Lack of availability of visa appointments (25%)
Keeping up to speed with entry regs, country by country (11%)
Personal burnout (10%)
Lack of staff/co-workers (4%)
Constantly changing bookings as airlines cancel and move flights (12%)
More risk for agents (4%)
Understaffed suppliers - phones unanswered (7%)
Long wait times for responses and quotes from suppliers (9%)
In May, what percentage of your pre-Covid salary were you paid?
100% (45%)
80-90% (14%)
60-79% (10%)
40-59% (10%)
20-39% (3%)
0-19% (9%)
Unemployed due to COVID (8%)
In April, what percentage of your pre-Covid salary were you paid?
100% (39%)
80-99% (13%)
60-79% (11%)
40-59% (9%)
20-39% (7%)
0-19% (9%)
Unemployed due to COVID (12%)
What’s the most important when you book a flight?
Flexibility (i.e. the ability to make ANY change up to 24 hours before the flight, FREE) (41%)
Cheapest fare (30%)
Bookable on GDS (21%)
Preferred agreement with carrier (5%)
Relationship with airline staff (2%)
In March, what percentage of your pre-Covid salary were you paid?
100% (38%)
80-99% (15%)
60-79% (14%)
40-59% (12%)
20-39% (3%)
0-19% (7%)
Unemployed due to COVID (11%)
What do you value the most about booking on a GDS system?
We can control the booking (53%)
It counts towards our agency's GDS target (0%)
More productive - it's time-wasting to jump on and off websites (31%)
We are notified on queues of cxs, schedule changes etc (9%)
We are equally happy to book on airline websites and GDS (5%)
We dont use GDS at all, we only book on websites (3%)
In February 2022, what percentage of your pre-Covid salary were you paid?
Unemployed due to Covid (15%)
0-19% (8%)
20-39% (8%)
40-59% (15%)
60-79% (11%)
80-99% (15%)
100% (28%)
In January 2022, what percentage of your pre-Covid salary were you paid?
Unemployed, due to Covid (13%)
0-19% (15%)
20-39% (8%)
40-59% (13%)
60-79% (11%)
80-99% (13%)
100% (28%)
By the end of 2022, corporate travel will be
About 10% of 2019's volumes, or less. (4%)
About 15%-30% of 2019's volumes (31%)
About 50%-70% of 2019's volumes (59%)
About 100% of 2019's volumes, or more (7%)
In November, what percentage of your salary were you paid?
Unemployed due to Covid (16%)
0-19% (13%)
20-39% (7%)
40-59% (18%)
60-79% (10%)
80-99% (8%)
100% (28%)
When non-clients phone in asking for information about travelling during Covid-19, do you:
give them the info they want, free, over the phone (57%)
refuse to give them info unless you are doing the booking and charging a service fee (25%)
make them pay a service fee and then give them the info (18%)
In September, what percentage of your salary were you paid?
Unemployed, due to Covid (15%)
0-19% (14%)
20-39% (9%)
40-59% (19%)
60-79% (13%)
80-99% (9%)
100% (20%)
Are you ready for the anticipated influx of travel bookings when South Africa is dropped from Red Lists worldwide?
Yes, our organisational structure has remained the same. (54%)
No, we now have fewer staff and will have to take on more consultants. (23%)
Our consultants are all ITCs now - we can allocate work as it comes in. (23%)
In August, what percentage of your salary were you paid?
Unemployed, due to Covid (13%)
0-19% (25%)
20-39% (11%)
40-59% (18%)
60-79% (11%)
80-99% (8%)
100% (14%)
Are sales in your agency improving?
Yes (51%)
No (49%)
In July, what percentage of your salary were you paid?
Unemployed, due to Covid (18%)
0-19% (24%)
20-39% (12%)
40-59% (15%)
60-79% (13%)
80-99% (7%)
100% (11%)
In June, what percentage of your salary were you paid?
Unemployed, due to Covid (18%)
0-19% (20%)
20-39% (7%)
40-59% (17%)
60-79% (14%)
80-99% (9%)
100% (14%)
Can SAA become the industry's favourite again?
Yes - we still love our flag-carrier, no matter what. (4%)
Yes, but we want efficiency, fair pricing, great service and an airline we can be proud of. (24%)
Yes, but SAA must incentivise agents in order to regain marketshare. (3%)
No, there are better airlines already in play. (14%)
No, after all the tales of corruption, how can we trust SAA again? (55%)
In May, what percentage of your salary were you paid?
Unemployed, due to Covid (17%)
0-19% (19%)
20-39% (11%)
40-59% (15%)
60-79% (11%)
80-99% (6%)
100% (20%)
What are the greatest obstacles to sales of forward bookings to foreign countries for the second half of 2021?
No access (red lists)/no flights/quarantine on arrival for SAs at most-desired destinations. (61%)
Poor service to agents, skeleton staff in reservations. (0%)
Clients fear airline/operator/agency collapsing. (4%)
Clients fear cancellation, then no refunds, only vouchers. (7%)
Slow vaccination programme - travellers need vax. (11%)
Clients fear virus flare ups, lockdowns, new border closures while in destination. (14%)
Fear of +ve test on return boarding, then mandatory quarantine. (3%)
In April, what % of your salary were you paid?
Unemployed due to Covid (14%)
0-19% (27%)
20-39% (9%)
40-59% (20%)
60-79% (13%)
80-99% (5%)
100% (11%)
In March, what % of your salary were you paid?
0-19% (38%)
20-39% (13%)
40-59% (24%)
60-79% (8%)
80-99% (5%)
100% (12%)
Agents only: Over the past 18 months, have you booked NDC fares?
I have booked lots of NDC fares (3%)
I have booked about 50/50 of both (5%)
I used GDS fares only (91%)
When hotels give clients refunds for Covid-related cancellations, do they protect travel agents' commissions?
Yes (13%)
No (87%)
In February, what % of your salary were you paid?
Unemployed due to Covid (21%)
0-19% (22%)
20-39% (10%)
40-59% (17%)
60-79% (12%)
80-99% (5%)
100% (13%)
Should proof of vaccination be mandatory for those boarding international flights?
Yes (60%)
No (40%)
This is what I like most about being an ITC
The flexibility (58%)
The money (4%)
Being my own boss (37%)
In January, what percentage of your salary were you paid?
100% (14%)
80 to 99% (4%)
60 to 79% (12%)
40 to 59% (18%)
20 to 39% (10%)
0 to 19% (24%)
Unemployed as a result of COVID (19%)
Do you have clients who want to travel overseas within the next 3 months?
I have lots of clients keen on foreign travel, as soon as possible. (39%)
Clients want local only, I have only few clients wanting overseas travel now. (15%)
Nobody wants to travel locally or overseas right now! They are waiting for vaccination. (46%)