According to a poll by Travel Weekly magazine, nearly two-thirds of travel agents said they would like to charge customers a fee for their brochures, as many people pick up copies from stores but then opt to book their holidays online.
Operators currently spend up to half of their marketing budgets on printing brochures, thought to cost around £1 each to produce.
Some industry insiders believe free brochures could soon become a thing of the past as the travel industry tightens its belt in the face of falling advertising budgets and a slowdown in demand as consumers cut their spending.
One high Street agent, Thomas Cook, told PrintWeek that it had worked on encouraging customers to recycle brochures, and in turn had reduced its print runs and therefore, its marketing costs. However the group insisted it had no plans to charge for its brochures.
A spokesperson said: "Our websites represent an area of growing business and this will no doubt have a longer-term impact on the number of brochures that we print.
"However, it is important we continue to meet the needs of all our customers, including those who prefer to browse online and those who prefer to read brochures."
Travel agents take fresh look at the high costs of printed brochures
Some travel agents have resorted to charging a 1-per-copy fee for printed brochures, in a bid to offset the cost of the 300m that are printed in the UK each year.
