Who would’ve thought such a little piece of paper would spark such a huge response from the industry? But alas that’s exactly what happened when KarryOn reported that the Outgoing Passenger Cards would be removed from 1 July.
That’s right, in exactly three days travellers will no longer need to concern themselves with filling out that green, seemingly useless piece of paper before making their way through customs.
The news has been surprisingly well-received by travellers who are looking forward to having that little extra time for duty-free shopping, while for Agents, it’s not all celebrations.
Why? Well, what you may or may not know is that most Travel Agents like to discreetly take Outgoing Passenger Cards from international gateways. This is how we picture them doing it…
But we’re not just talking one or two Outgoing Passenger Cards, we’re talking bundles of them.
They do this so they can give them to their clients heading overseas. It’s a nice little addition to the booking and it acts as an example of the service travellers receive when they book with a consultant vs online.
However, with the forthcoming eradication of the Outgoing Passenger Card, many consultants have been left wondering – ‘what the hell am I going to do with all these cards?’
Many have kindly expressed their thoughts on KarryOn’s Facebook page and their comments were too good not to share:
Like Jess who carried bundles all around Bali on a recent trip
And Holly who feels as though her efforts were equally as wasted
There’s Bec who was kind enough to save her friend from thieving
And Nicole who was pretty excited for her friend’s potentially history-making moment
Then there’s Debbie who thinks the removal of Outgoing Passenger Cards couldn’t have come at a better time
And Sharni who’s saving her Outgoing Passenger Cards in the hopes they’ll one day make her some $$$