Travel agencies can increase service fee revenue and productivity by 28 per cent and 67 per cent respectively by automating their management, according to a new study.

Amadeus commissioned the study and it was conducted by Dr Fried and Partner, a German consultancy.

The study compares agencies calculating fees manually with agencies using an automated solution. Automating service fee management was found to allow travel agencies to adopt more sophisticated fee schemes which include a greater variety of transaction fees, the study has revealed.

The resulting increase in service fee revenue can be as much as 28 per cent.

Compared with agencies calculating fees manually, agencies using an automated solution integrated into their selling application can, on average, increase productivity by 67 per cent for service fee application activities and by 12 per cent for the overall booking process.

The productivity gain can be achieved by using the time saved through automated fee management to make more bookings.

'Amadeus commissioned this study to help our customers as they move to a service fee-based business model. Our close relationship with thousands of travel agencies around the globe allows us to compare trends in service fees and how they are managed by agencies,' said vice-president, Travel Office Products & Solutions, Amadeus, says Claude Giafferri.

'We are convinced that there are strong revenue opportunities to be uncovered by travel agencies and this study demonstrates that automated processes are a key enabler to making the most of the service fee revenue opportunity,' he added.-Trade Arabia News Service