The 1990s

Riding high on the retail travel industry’s boom times in the 1970s and 1980s, and 10% airline commissions, no one was prepared for what the 1990s would bring - namely, commission caps and cuts, and the Internet.

The caps and cuts were bad enough. Delta got the ball rolling in 1994 and 1995, and over the next few years airline after airline followed suit, decimating agency revenues. Travel advisors fought back, and lawsuits were filed. Many travel agents walked away from air-only bookings and never looked back.

As if that wasn’t enough, in the midto-late 1990s the Internet started to hit the retail travel sector with full force. Expedia and Travelocity both launched in 1996, and these two OTAs came to dominate online travel bookings. Traditional bricks-and-mortar agencies worked feverishly to compete, stay relevant and launch websites of their own. When the dust settled, the days of the so-called ‘ticket taker’ agency business model was waning, and the era of service fees had begun.

Also in the 1990s, cruise ships got bigger and bigger and ultimately passed the 100,000 gross tonnage mark, an unheard-of size … for a while at least. On land, all-inclusive resorts were king. There was no shortage of major tour operators, including ACV, Transat Holidays, Signature Vacations, Sunquest, Conquest Vacations, Regent Holidays, World of Vacations and more. Much-loved midsize players included Red Seal Tours and Holiday House. Both WestJet and Royal Airlines took to the skies. And a 22-year old Bruce Poon Tip, with two maxed-out credit cards, founded G Adventures in 1990.

TRAVELWEEK WAS THERE: Travelweek continued to thrive in the 1990s under editor Patrick Dineen. There was a new look for the magazine, and soon a website, and new owners Gerry Kinasz and his business partner.

ENVOY, launched in 1998 as Hippo Express, got its start handling fulfillment and distribution for

1 Canadian Airlines 747 2 WestJet's early days 3 Travelweek Bulletin, January 1991

4 ALBATours fam to Italy with Amex Travel, 1996 5 Regent Holidays ad, 1991 (Travelweek's Kathryn Folliott is 3rd from left) 6 WestJet 7 Sandals Resorts' Tour Operator Sports Day, Toronto, 1999 8 Holiday House ad, 1997