Lately I’ve been catching up on the trends in tourism. I read a lot of nonsense and sometimes there are doubtful cases. Authentic experiences, for example. What are they? If you send a 100 pax bus there, is the experience still authentic? Or eat at people’s homes in a holiday country? Seems like hell on earth to me. Turn it around: put a tourist couple at Rita and Jaap’s in Flapperveen, Overijssel, who are served tomato soup with meatballs, bacon with Brussels sprouts and each a very accurately measured piece of Viennetta, while Jaap explains to the Malaysian Rayyan and Nadia that those ‘soup dresses’ cause so many problems in Flapperveen. Well, authentic it certainly is. However, certain predictions have come true. Stripped-down airline tickets, for example. Business class passengers, who pay handsomely, should not be surprised if they should have docked a little more if it turns out that they are no longer welcome in the lounge and are not allowed to choose a seat. I don’t think these are the variables that need to be taken out of the tariff. Offer luxury champagne, the expensive wine, and fancy food as a choice option. Give a toiletry bag from Hema and not from Bulgari. If all that saves money, great plan. But don’t ask someone for more money for a seat choice if they have just paid three or four thousand euros. Not nice. Ditto in the back. Many airlines now charge money for a suitcase on board, and more will follow. It’s one of the tactics and I can’t see the wood for the trees anymore… And neither do the consumer. Price comparison is sudoku for advanced users. The price confusion is complete and causes irritation and also delays when the airline has to explain to the check-in that you really have to pay extra for the trolley. While fifteen minutes later the crew is at the gate begging if on earth someone wants to throw their suitcase in the hold for free. And then you have the circus on board in which people in row 3 have their suitcase in row 24, or vice versa. Or push and pull until the lid can be closed and all the fragile stuff is actually broken in your hand luggage. Many passengers are annoyed and the crew almost has to be overworked. But neither the traveler, nor the crew, can do anything about it. For example, a voucher for an evening of authentic dining with a Dutch family for the first airline CEO who manages to solve the suitcase crisis.
