Singapore-Malaysia coach tours could get more expensive

COACH ticket prices for Singapore-Malaysia trips might soon see a jump, due to rising insurance premiums, highway toll charges and fuel costs.

  11/04/2012 09:02

Singapore-based coach operators said insurance premiums are tipped to increase further, especially since there is only one travel insurance provider at the moment.

Sebastian Yap, a committee member of the Express Bus Agencies Association (EBAA) and managing director of Regent Star Travel, told TTG Asia e-Daily: "In the past, coach operators had a host of travel insurance providers to choose from. Unfortunately, many insurance firms found that, owing to the complexities involved in designing cross-border travel policies and settling claims, it was simply not worth the investment, time and effort."

To encourage competition, EBAA has been in talks with other insurance providers, although according to Yap, many remain unconvinced. EBAA is also in the midst of negotiating with Liberty Insurance to secure better premium terms for members.

Yap said that while major coach operators could probably absorb any hike in insurance premiums, it would be hard for the over 200 smaller players in the industry to do so. “They have little bargaining power and will thus be less likely to secure a good deal and they may have little choice but to pass the increase on to passengers. This could be detrimental for their business," he explained.

“Frankly, for the larger players, (rising) fuel prices and toll increases are more of a worry than the tipped hike in insurance premiums. However, most of our members will only be able to make a decision on whether they need to up their ticket prices early next year when things are clearer and these operational costs can be factored in,” added Yap.

Malaysian authorities are now studying the feasibility of increasing toll charges for Singapore-registered vehicles entering the country. Diesel price has also risen by around 3.5 per cent in the last 12 months.

(Source: TTG Asia)

Subject:
Tag:
loading
OTHER NEWS

Vietravel proud to bring Vietnam tourism to the world

With the title of “World’s Leading Group Tour Operator 2017”, Vietravel has become the first Vietnam ...

  11/12/2017 13:00

Vietravel to receive the TTG Travel Awards for the sixth time

In the evening of September 28, 2017, at the Centara Grand Hotel (Bangkok, Thailand), Vietravel Comp ...

  03/10/2017 14:00

Vietravel to support the opening ceremony of walking street of Hue City

Known as the leading travel company in Vietnam, always associated with the development of locality, ...

  30/09/2017 17:00

Vietravel to provide services for World Scholar's Cup 2017

From June 25 to July 1, 2017, the World Scholar's Cup will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam for high school ...

  27/06/2017 08:00

Vietravel to honorably take over the transportation service for the 2017 APEC summit

Based on the direction of Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, Chairman of APEC National Committee ...

  03/04/2017 14:00

Vietravel organizes Vietnamese Famtrip for delegations from Iran

Vietravel is honored as an organizational unit and is the main sponsor for Famtrip tourism delegatio ...

  27/05/2016 08:00
pin