THE number of travel agents in Northern Ireland has
dropped by a third over the last decade, the
Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has
admitted.

Currently the Province is home to just 183 ABTA bonded
travel agents of which some 50 per cent are
independent and the other half multiple-owned.

In 1994 the number of ABTA-bonded travel agents here
was around 273 but as the years passed small
independent travel agents either closed or were
acquired by the larger multiples.

DIY holidays via the internet are said to be the main
reason for the drop in agency numbers and a more
internet-confident traveller.

The rise in flights by low cost airlines bookable over
the internet is also cited as contributing to the new
low figure while the increase in broadband and
internet at home has allowed travellers to become
accustomed to online booking.

In the meantime, the Province is continuing to lose
its independent travel agencies.

Three long established agencies either have closed
recently or are about to close soon. Globetrotter
Travel, Carryduff, closed in the summer. La Mon
Travel's Ballynahinch branch is due to close this
month while TravelPlan on Belfast's Cavehill Road will
close in November.

The number of independent owners is also contracting,
with Sandra Corkin, owner of Oasis Travel in Lisburn,
recently acquiring Milliken Travel with offices in
Bangor, Holywood and Dundonald.

Oasis Travel is now the biggest independently owned
agency chain in the Province.

BY EMMA DEIGHAN