On-line scammers are damaging the popularity of journey companies and business members ought to take steps to differentiate themselves from scammers.
This week's information of a gaggle of 80 pensioners who had been scammed out of huge sums of cash they paid for a luxurious “dream journey to Thailand” has shone a highlight on on-line journey fraud.
The pensioners had been promised a 14-night unique journey to the Southeast Asian nation, however the so-called “journey agent” reneged on the journey and didn’t refund their cash. The pensioners have since opened a fraud case at Strand police station within the Western Cape.
Otto de VriesCEO of Asata, mentioned journey information that this case of fraud was deeply worrying and expressed empathy with these affected by the incident.
“As an business, we take these issues very critically and are dedicated to sustaining the belief of our clients,” he mentioned.
De Vries confused that Asata strongly suggested travellers to guard themselves by working with accredited Asata member companies.
“Asata maintains a strict code of conduct and monetary requirements for all members, which is a dependable assure of high quality, monetary stability and ethics. Importantly, there has not been a single case of fraud involving an Asata member previously decade. This observe report demonstrates the effectiveness of the affiliation in defending shoppers.”
She added that Asata offered seen proof of duty by means of membership certificates, logos and listing listings, and urged vacationers to confirm these credentials earlier than reserving. “This easy step will help mitigate potential scams.”
Tammy huntCEO of eTravel, mentioned journey information that if a deal appeared too good to be true, it often was and vacationers ought to do their analysis.
“Most cost-effective isn’t finest. Reserving by means of an ITC that has a wealth of data, expertise and relationships going again years, if not a long time, can and can shield their clients in any respect prices and won’t ebook their clients by means of operators that promise the journey of a lifetime for half the worth,” Hunt mentioned.
Chantal GowsCEO of Flight Middle Impartial (FCI) South Africa, mentioned belief and transparency had been paramount for all journey professionals, particularly within the present digital panorama.
“At Flight Centre Impartial we take a multi-layered strategy to make sure our clients really feel secure. All of our FCI brokers profit from a rigorous vetting course of and the backing of the Flight Centre international model, which considerably helps to differentiate them from potential fraudsters,” he mentioned.
To construct respected companies on-line and on social media, and to obviously distinguish your self from scammers, the FCI advises its brokers to take sure measures. This is able to make enterprise sense for any agent.
- Leverage the ability of brand name – clearly talk affiliation with Flight Middle or FCI on all platforms.
- Energetic social media presence: Keep lively and verified profiles that showcase your journey experience and content material.
- Skilled on-line presence: Use skilled e mail addresses and web sites. For model brokers, this features a constant Flight Middle model picture.
- Responsive Buyer Service: Reply shortly to inquiries and keep glorious customer support.
- Cybersecurity: Spend money on sturdy measures to guard buyer knowledge.
- Showcase your experience: Frequently share priceless journey content material, ideas and concepts to ascertain authority within the subject.
- Buyer Testimonials – Share constructive suggestions and experiences from happy clients.
- Academic content material: Present info on secure reserving practices to assist clients distinguish between respectable corporations and potential scams.
- Networking – Have interaction with different respected journey professionals and organizations on-line to construct credibility by affiliation.
- Consistency: Keep a constant model voice and posting schedule to construct familiarity and belief along with your viewers.
“By leveraging the power and popularity of the Flight Centre model, coupled with our complete help and verification processes, our brokers can successfully distinguish themselves from fraudsters and construct belief with their clients within the on-line house,” concluded Gouws.