THE Institute of
Travel and Tourism will launch a raft of initiatives this year in a bid to
regain credibility and attract younger members.
Despite its
financial problems last year, including a £36,000 black hole in its accounts,
membership renewals are at the same level as 2001 and more corporate members
have joined.
The ITT has
simplified its membership categories by reducing them from seven to three –
associate, member and fellow. Student membership has been scrapped but they
will get a better deal by becoming an associate, the fee for which has been
slashed from £70 to £25.
The reduction is
part of the ITT’s campaign to encourage more younger members to join.
Chairman Steven
Freudmann said: “We’ve successfully attracted a lot of retired and senior
management figures but not the younger members we need to ensure the future of
the ITT.”
To achieve this,
the ITT will be launching a younger members campaign in March. This will
coincide with two big student conferences in Blackpool where the ITT will be
distributing membership packs. It will also be working with the Travel Training
Company to encourage college students to become members when enrolling for
travel-related courses.
In a bid to regain
credibility, the ITT is setting standards for members to meet before they can
join and use the initials F Inst TT after their name.
A fellow must have
five years’ industry experience plus a degree or NVQ level four or equivalent
before they can use the initials.
“Previously
standards were not enforced and the initials were devalued but we will now be
enforcing new standards,” said Freudmann.
The ITT has also
sought to overturn criticism about its lack of training by introducing 90
correspondence courses by e-mail in conjunction with Chameleon.
It will also be
expanding to include regional events, more affordable functions and more events
targeted at younger members.
* Crete has made a
late bid as a venue for the ITT conference in June after Jordan was scrapped.
The other frontrunners are Marbella and Ireland.