A total of 86 travel agencies shut shop in the first five months of thisyear, surpassing the 80 new ones that obtained operating licences,according to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

At the currentpace of closures, the number of firms going out of business this year isset to exceed the 114 that ceased operations last year, the STBforecast.

This will extend the trend since 2011 when closureshave risen year after year. Meanwhile, 159 new travel agency licenceswere issued last year, down from 163 in 2013, STB data showed.

The Singaporean newspaper Today quoted Dr Michael Chiam, senior tourismlecturer at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic as saying that wafer-thin marginsand cut-throat competition continued to push smaller players into thecorner, while Internet-savvy travellers and assembling their ownitineraries and cutting out agents.

Kay Swee Pin, President ofthe Singapore Outbound Travel Agents Association (SOTAA), said in fact,there are far too many travel agents in a small market such asSingapore. As of December there were 1,201 licensed travel agents here,up from 973 in 2010 and 735 in 2005.

Smaller operators oftenundercut the competition with low rates, but eventually collapse whentheir business model becomes unsustainable.

However, biggertravel agencies have also gone out of business. Asia-Euro Holidayspulled down its shutters abruptly last month after 13 years in business,leaving hundreds of customers in the lurch. Five Stars Tour, anotherwell-known travel agency, went bankrupt in January last year.

Some travel agencies are calling for more regulation to curtail such closures that are casting the industry in a poor light.-VNA