“I want to know why, when the economy is buoyant and the pound has never been stronger, some of our members are having a tough time. I am looking forward to finding out the answers.”
ABTA presidentSteve Freudmann
“Agents were too afraid to ask questions in Marbella because they felt intimidated. This year promises to be different as they will be able to ask written questions [anonymously] which should lead to more debate. It is crucial agents are heard.”
Maureen HillWessex World Travel
“The debate looking at our changing industry and what we can expect five years down the line should be fascinating. I am also looking forward to hearing Martin Hayward from the Henley Centre. We are a very insular industry and it is good to hear someone from outside give a different perspective.”
Yvonne RankinCo-op Travelcare
“We seem to be in a period of relative stability so for the first time in years the major players will be more internally focused. It’s a rare opportunity to sit down with the people in a relaxed atmosphere and is totally different from seeing them in your office for an hour.”
John WimbletonFirst Choice
“It should be fascinating to see how the business operates behind the scenes. We learn about travel, but to see the industry first hand will be an excellent experience.”
Karen Stevens, student studying travel and tourism at West Herts College
“At one time I thought the conference was just a junket, but the business sessions are becoming more focused and have far greater value now-adays. Previously it did not cover things that the average agent could relate to.”
ARTAC chairman Colin Heal
“I think there will be a unique atmosphere. The commitment of getting there, both in terms of time and money, will make people keener to put in and get out as much as possible, both during the business sessions and socially.”
ABTA chief executiveIan Reynolds
“Networking is the real benefit of these conferences. It’s not so much the people you know already, but the new contacts you develop. The travel industry is in a right pickle and it may have been better to have been closer to home. It is costly not just in money but time as well.”
Lesley AmorshoreHaxby Travel
ABTA staff and management breathed a collective sigh of relief when members overwhelmingly accepted the blueprint for the future which will reshape the association.
After six months of detailed and occasionally heated consultation, the association’s vision for a more streamlined body was supported by 96% of those who voted.
The fact that the turnout was only 30% will be of little concern to ABTA. While it could and probably will be argued that the poor turnout suggests apathy towards the association, the secretariat will say that the 70% who failed to register an opinion are at ease with the widespread changes about to sweep through Newman Street.
As it transpired, the vote could not have been better timed, coming just three weeks before the Cairns convention. But ABTA chief executive Ian Reynolds conceded that the timing could have been dreadful – which goes some way to explaining the relief felt by the association.
He said: “There is no question that it would have been very difficult for us in Cairns if the vote had not gone through. We would have been in a state of limbo and unsure of what the future held. As it is, we can focus on the conference knowing we have the backing of a significant number of members.”
If Reynolds has his way, however, the blueprint itself is unlikely to feature too much during the convention.
“To be honest, I am bored with it and the members are bored with it. In fact I think everyone is bored with it,” Reynolds joked. “Let’s use the convention to talk about where we can improve our services to members. Let’s get on with the job in hand.”
Discussion is inevitable, however, on who will form the 18-strong board which will take over from the Tour Operators’ and Travel Agents’ Councils next spring. ABTA hopes it will attract senior figures and may use the conference to encourage the major players to take a more active role.
The ‘yes’ vote has set the platform nicely for Cairns, which will be ABTA’s first visit Down Under since the Gold Coast conference in 1985.
Much has been said and written about the practicalities of staging the industry’s premier gathering on the other side of the world, much of it critical.
But Cairns it is and with approaching 1,800 delegates heading to Queensland, ABTA can claim to have hit its target. However, while healthy profits were made from the last two conferences in Tenerife in 1997 and Marbella in 1998, Cairns is unlikely to make money.
President Steven Freudmann said: “It’s unlikely, but we don’t view this as a profit-making venture. If we do make money, all well and good, but it is not the highest priority.”
Of the attending delegates, 666 are members, 390 non-members and 210 Travel Industry Partners. Whatever the rights and wrongs of holding the event in Australia, ABTA deserves credit for putting together what on paper looks to be a high calibre line-up of speakers.
From the industry there are British Midland chairman Sir Michael Bishop and Thomas Cook group chief executive John Donaldson, while former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke will also address delegates.
It is also felt that, with major consolidation in the industry apparently over following the European Commission’s decision to block Airtours’ bid for First Choice, a more settled market place could provide the base for more constructive and meaningful debate.