USA (24 Nov 2001) -- According to reports in a special November 21 edition of IN-DEPTH magazine, Adventure Express, Dive Tours and Tropical Adventures have gone belly up. The US-based travel companies, all part of the Leisure Travel Development group, suddenly ceased operations on November 21. "Many will cite the terrorist attacks on America and the abrupt worldwide travel slump as the cause of their demise," said IN-DEPTH editor Cameron Montgomery. "While September 11 certainly did not help anyone in our industry, we have been warning IN-DEPTH readers for over a year that the major dive travel wholesalers were in serious trouble." Montgomery points to a major shift in the travel industry to eMarketing and direct online bookings as the primary causes of the failure of the three companies. "Many dive travel wholesalers are struggling to stay in business despite taking a huge 20% cut on every package sold," explained Montgomery. "That adds up to $600 per booking on a $3,000 live-aboard trip so you can understand that there is considerable incentive for web savvy dive travelers to bypass the traditional ad-driven dive magazine/travel agent system that artificially increases prices." | | By booking directly with live-aboards and resort operators that carefully control costs with cost effective eMarketing, independent divers who organize their own groups can save thousands of dollars. "The key is not to make the mistake of equating big ad budgets with safe, reliable operators," Cameron added. "Many of the independent operators offer more reliable service and far better value but the trick is to know who they are. That's where we come in with unbiased ratings that accurately evaluate dive operators." Customers who booked with the companies are being referred to PADI Travel Network and Caradonna Caribbean Tours. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
