Senior staff scarcity puts pressure on juniors

SENIOR travel industry
staff, and fare experts
in particular, are more in
demand than ever before.
With centralised ticketing, a
sharp increase in ADMs and
a drain of senior consultants
leaving the industry to start
up their own ITCs, junior
consultants are relying more
heavily on fare and ticketing
experts.
Lee Botti, md of Lee Botti
and Associates, points
out that there is a severe
shortage of senior staff in
the outbound travel market
at present. Nono Mantjiu,
recruitment consultant travel
for PCS, says there is a
shortage in the market of
staff with specialised fares
knowledge.
The shortage had been
exacerbated by a drain of
senior staff leaving formal
employment positions in
order to start their own ITCs.
She says agencies have
responded by substantially
increasing salaries for this
sector of the market and that
many companies are also
focusing on internal training of
intermediaries to develop the
skills that are missing.
According to Albert Visser,
fare administrator at eTravel,
his position assists ITCs with
complicated fares, liaises
and negotiates with airline
suppliers and works on both
ADM prevention and disputes.
Albert says he is constantly
communicating with the
eTravel ITCs regarding new
airline rulings and ADM trends
and that, due to this high
level interaction, the number
of ADMs that the consortium
actually receives is extremely
low, considering the volume of
tickets that they issue.
Johann Ehrensperger, a fare
and ticketing specialist for a
local tour operator, says in
a travel agency scenario, a
fare specialist is only needed
if the consultants are fairly
junior and that the position
would not be a necessary
appointment for a senior
reservation team.
 What are your thoughts on
the matter? Let us know by
emailing tessar@nowmedia.
co.za