| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 24/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 1 |
| Copyright: Other |
ABTAboard members decide to drop convention expenses
ABTA boardmembershave unanimously agreed to scrap convention expenses worth a maximum of £1,000 each.The cost-cutting move means they will once again have to rely on their own companies to foot the bill for travel and other expenses to reach the ABTAconvention taking place in Kos in October.
An ABTAspokesman said: “What we have done over the last couple of years is to give board members an allowance they can use to attend the ABTA convention.
“The maximum that could be claimed was £1,000. At the meeting, the board decided that with 18 instead of 10 members, as before, it would not be right to put that cost to ABTA and so voted to withdraw it from their allowance. It was a unanimous decision.”
The move will be welcomed by critics who have accused ABTA of running up excessive expenses bills. In January last year, ABTApresident Steven Freudmann was attacked for having an expenses bill of nearly £1,000 each week, although he was within the association’s limits. ABTA’s total expense bill to July last year rose by £98,528 to £272,182.