FORMER Thomas Cook head of industry affairs Brian Axon-Boyes and ABTA South Wales chairman Sam Smith are both running for ABTA president.
Current president Steven Freudmann’s three-year reign comes to an end in May but he has already said he may be interested in standing again.
Axon-Boyes, now chairman of the Multiple Travel Agents Association, said: “I think the association needs to play a bigger part in the industry. There are some serious issues that need to be tackled.”
He was vice-chairman of the Travel Agents’ Council, acting as head of European liaison at ABTA and is a member of the Civil Aviation Authority Travel Trust committee.
Smith, a director at Culver Travel in Cowbridge, said: “I believe it may be beneficial for someone who has not been on the Travel Agents’ or Tour Operators’ Councils to become president and bring the warring factions together.”