Chantal Epin is the proprietor of Viajes Chantal, a travel agency which has been in business for 35 years in Fuengirola. She has seen many changes in the industry, such as the boom in rural tourism, but says that when it comes to booking a holiday, one thing has remained the same: price is still the deciding factor.
Have the destinations chosen by customers changed a lot?
The destinations are the same, but there is a lot more on offer, particularly in the sector of rural tourism. Nevertheless, places such as Paris and Rome are still favourites.
Has the profile of the customer changed?
Yes, it has. Before, the whole family went away together whereas now there are more couples booking holidays. I remember 30 or 40 years ago there were a lot of people who hadn’t even been to Madrid before.
Is it cheaper to travel now?
Yes, it is a lot cheaper. In the past a return trip to Paris by plane could cost around 100,000 pesetas (around 600 euros) and not everybody could afford it. Now you can go abroad for 100 euros. There is also a lot more choice, and travel is cheaper, but people still look at the price and follow the trends.
And what are the current trends?
Rural tourism and cruises. Some destinations become popular thanks to television, whilst others lose popularity due to the current situation of a country, for example, Egypt.
Is running a travel agency profitable?
It’s less and less so. Customers wrongly believe that booking a holiday by themselves on the internet without the middleman is cheaper.
Are you retiring soon?
I’m 65 now, so I’m going to close the agency soon. I’ll miss it a lot, though.
