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Agents have warned tour operators their sales will be dramatically hit if they slash commission.

A poll of 300 agents, carried out by technology company Amadeus, has revealed three-quarters (76%) would not think twice about switch-selling en masse away from an operator that slashed commission, while seven out of 10 said they would switch-sell towards operators with agent-friendly commission structures.

A total of 81% of agents questioned in the survey believed tour operators underestimated travel agents’ power to influence customers’ purchasing behaviour.

The findings are a stark warning to operators which are cutting commission, including First Choice and TUI. First Choice is cutting consortia payments to 10%, while Thomson is refusing to pay overrides to under-performing members.

One travel agent polled said: "I don’t feel guilty about switch-selling away from the worst offending operators that are reducing commissions. It’s a matter of survival. I have to consider what payments I earn from the operator."

Midconsort chief executive Charles Eftichiou was pleased with the survey’s findings.

"It’s the only way we can win the commission battle and ensure we are not downtrodden by the big guys," said Eftichiou.

He said sales for First Choice have nosedived since the operator announced it was slashing commission. Eftichiou’s call to members to de-rack the operator has led to dramatic increases for rival operators. Eftichiou said Thomas Cook’s sales are up 66%, Thomson sales are up more than 55%, while Cosmos and Airtours have also seen sales increase.

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