When Ireland's largest tour operator Budget Travel announced last month it was unilaterally halving the 10 per cent commission it paid travel agents for selling its holidays, there were immediate protests that the move would herald the end of the traditional travel agent

Much the same was said in 1997 when Ryanair broke new ground in the Irish market by reducing the commission it paid agents for selling its flights. Travel agents, who at the time claimed to sell 75 per cent of Ryanair's seats voted on a boycott - voluntary, of course, since the lobby group could not be seen to run a cartel.

Seven years on, Ryanair sells more than 95 per cent of its seats through the ryanair.com website and the agents are still here.

However, while some of the initial furore over Budget Travel's move has dissipated, the need for travel agents to change they way they do business has become undeniable.

Airline commissions provided a comfort zone on balance sheets but were not vital. In any case, since Aer Lingus also started cutting commissions, agents have introduced administration fees to cover their costs.

Package holidays are a different matter. Selling holidays is the bread and butter of many travel agencies business and the earnings from those sales are a core source of revenue.

While Budget's rivals in the Irish market - including American Holidays and Crystal Holidays that are part of Budget's parent's group TUI - have said they are not cutting their commissions, the move has triggered a rethink by the Irish Travel Agents' Association (ITAA) of its role and the nature of its members' business.

Today, representatives from the State's 230-odd travel agencies gather in Dublin for ITAA's annual conference that will approve a reorganisation and restructuring.

"We will come out with a new organisation that is more relevant to the public and to the agents themselves in a climate of change," says ITAA president Mr Michael Doorley.

This coincides with the departure of long-time ITAA chief executive Mr Brendan Moran, who is retiring from his post.

Delegates will also hear from both the airlines and the Irish Tour Operators Federation about how they see their respective roles and that of travel agents evolving in a fast changing business.

The tour operators, in particular, are keen to look at ways of reducing overheads for paperwork and postage that hit both them and the agents.

Other sessions will address ways of examining and controlling travel agency costs and a talk from C&C chief executive Mr Maurice Pratt on customer retention.

One of the ways ITAA hopes to play a role in this is with the introduction of a public awareness campaign.

"A clear message we have been receiving is that we are not doing nearly enough to get our own message out there," says Mr Doorley.

This is particularly so in relation both to the value of the experience available from agents to people intending to travel to unfamiliar places abroad and even to the cost savings possible through travel agents.

The issue of value is one on which ITAA will find common ground with the tour operators.

"There is a great myth out there that the web is cheaper and this is driving self-packaging of holidays, " says Mr Niall McDonnell, president of the tour operators' federation.

Mr Doorley agrees. "While it is true that the web is probably now the cheapest source of short-haul flights, it is certainly not the case for medium and long-haul travel as many members of the public have discovered." Mr McDonnell says that people buying on the web often fail to take into account the full costs of their trip.

"They buy the fight and the accommodation and pat themselves on the back but they fail to take account of other costs involved, such as transfers."

Changing ticket details is also more expensive, he says. An agent or operator, says Mr McDonnell, will charge far less than most online or direct sales teams.

"There is still a role for both tour operators and travel agents," said Mr McDonnell, who argues that the experience and personal service available are things people often do not realise the value of until they find themselves in the wrong place or facing an emergency without a representative to turn to.

Then there is the issue of consumer protection. Travel agents and tour operators are both obliged to post bonds to ensure that, in the event of a collapse, the customer will not be left out of pocket.

Buying online often removes that protection, they claim, and they are keen for the regulator, Mr Bill Prasifka at the Commission for Aviation Regulation, to address this issue and push for new legislation.

"The existing law does not reflect the realities of modern travel," says Mr McDonnell.

"This industry has changed hugely in the past four years but it is working within a legislative framework that was put in place long before that, before the age of online travel and of low-cost travel."

He is particularly critical of the structure that allowed the likes of FreshAer to launch itself on the market only to collapse before it ever carried a passenger, damaging not only itself but the image of the industry in general.

The new push for regulatory reform is one of the areas delegates hope Mr Prasifka will tackle when he addresses delegates tomorrow.

When Ryanair first shook up the industry in 1997, agents hoped they could ignore the airline and the issues would disappear.

The growth of the internet and the seismic changes facing the travel sector following the September 11, 2001 attacks have ensured that they cannot.

No doubt the issue of the disappearing commissions will be raised in the Irish Tour Operators Federation's first address to ITAA since it was formed two years ago but in a fast-changing and increasingly competitive market, both sides expect the emphasis will be on the way forward rather than a futile effort to turn the clock back.