With the range of attractions in and around Cairns, ABTA could be forgiven for being anxious about attendance levels at the business sessions. Who wants to sit in an auditorium when you could be scuba- diving on the Great Barrier Reef?
But the association has put together a conference tackling enough relevant issues to hold the interest of many of the delegates. For agents, the airline debate during the final session on Monday will be particularly pertinent. A heavyweight line-up of speakers has been assembled with British Midland chairman Sir Michael Bishop, Go chief executive Barbara Cassani and Qantas deputy chief executive officer Geoff Dixon.
ABTA president Steven Freudmann, himself an independent agent, said the reduction of commission rates will be on the agenda. “I shall be looking for some form of commitment from those airlines which have historically worked with agents that they will continue to do so,” he said. “I want confirmation from Sir Michael Bishop of his long-term aims.”
Bishop will also be under the spotlight at Travel Weekly’s Travel Industry lunch on the same day when he is interviewed by Travel Weekly editor Jeremy Skidmore. All the major organisations will be represented with each of them discussing their relationship with ABTA and the perennial issue of independence, and whether they lose their right to that tag when they align themselves with a major tour operator. The conference’s first session, on Friday morning, will focus on perhaps what the industry often loses sight of – the consumer. Martin Hayward, director of consumer consultancy at The Henley Centre, said the industry must react as customers become more diverse in their demands. “Customers are less predictable now. You can no longer segment markets,” he said.
In today’s environment, the Saturday afternoon session with Malcolm Preston from PriceWaterhouseCoopers on buying and selling a travel business will strike a cord with many while the one-to-one interview in Cairns will turn the spotlight on Thomas Cook chief executive John Donaldson who will explain the reasoning behind September’s JMC rebrand.
New for the 1999 conference is The Hot Topic, a session reserved for the most pressing issue of the day. “We have yet to decide what it will be,” said Freudmann.