With more and more problems appearing with regard to fiscal safety in the UK travel industry, I think the answer is for more emphasis on Tour Operators providing Dynamic Packaging for the trade and direct customers alike!
The CAA appears to be finally cracking down on ATOL misuse and questions are again being asked about 'when is a package not a package' and do travel agents who put together Dynamic Packages for customers become a provider and therefore need an expensive ATOL license? Hence my suggestion; why not go back to the old tried and tested method - a tour operator provides the flexibile Dynamic Packages that customers want and provide the financial security of their ATOL and ABTA bonding. The travel agent distribution channel has the commission they need without having to invest in the layers of technology they currently do and so can improve their margins by being more efficient while the tour operator gains considerable volume. Everyone wins; customers get the products and financial protection they demand and the trade gets the growth it needs to survive.
All that is need is the technology!! That's where Mach Associates come in with our MARS software that provides links to an ever increasing number of suppliers so tour operators do not need to maintain expensive contracts and allocations (apart from core business of course) they can simply link Bed bank accommodation (hotels, villas, apartments) with Car Rental, Air bookings (GDS and Low Cost Carriers) or Ferries and rail to resort services like transfers and city tours and you have a Dynamic Package. All of which can be booked online.
Affilate software within MARS gives distribution to B2B sites so that larger Travel Agency consortia can maintain Brand Idenity by booking through their own websites and making a healthy commission.
I think it works despite what some of our competitors say (the ones with old legacy software, probably).