Whereas in 2005 it took the cumulated turnover of the top six travel agencies to reach the 100 million-euro threshold, in 2006, it took only the top three players to generate a business worth about 90 million euros.
The top ten travel agencies in Romania reached a cumulated turnover of about 200 million euros in 2006, while in 2005 the cumulated turnovers of the top ten players did not exceed 152 million euros. This indicates an average growth of 31% in the business of the trendsetters on the market of travel offers.
"This growth is not the result of greater demand alone. The companies have consolidated, they have expanded the number of offices, have invested in development and that has showed in the turnover and profits, too," says Traian Badulescu, spokesman for the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT).
The highest growth of 2006 came from Paralela 45, which saw its business go up by 50% from 16 million euros in 2005 to 24 million euros in 2006, according to the data it provided. On the other hand, Happy Tour and Visit Romania recorded the smallest growth, of 22% each, according to the data they supplied.
The main players on the market say that the growth is the result of a number of factors, three of which are important: improvement in the living standards, the entry of many low-cost airlines on the market and the ability of the agencies to get charter flights at lower and lower prices. On top of this, comes the about 20% increase in the business travel.
"The emergence of low-cost and charter flights has caused a change on the tourist transportation market. For most destinations, the coach was replaced by charter or low-cost flights at similar prices. After all, we already know other low cost companies will enter the market, too, which will further push prices down," says Aurel Pavel, general manager of J'Info Tours agen
