THE Association of Independent Tour Operators overseas conference is always the highlight of the year for me. I enjoy meeting all my friends and hearing how they are. Because ours is a small association you tend to know most people and it is generally the owners or managing directors who attend.
Because we all know each other, the business sessions are lively and relaxed. No-one is afraid of making a fool of themselves and there are many occasions for a good laugh. Most AITO members don’t take themselves very seriously – a sure recipe for success. It’s wonderful to be able to chat to like-minded business people because it’s often very frightening to be in business on one’s own; to speak to others who have the same problems is very reassuring.
Sunvil joined AITO in 1976 and it came as a shock to realise we are now the association’s longest surviving member. When I went to my first meeting, Colin Murison-Small was chairman and companies such as Small World, John Morgan Supertravel, Crawford Perry Travel, Just Crete, Medina and Sunmed Holidays were in their prime. All these companies have long since disappeared and illustrious names including Vic Fatah, John Boyle, Roger Allard, Philip Sheridan (he founded Magic of Italy) and Timothy Timms (Timsway) have now passed into history. Many went on to lay the basis for today’s vertically integrated giants, others went into liquidation and some, like John Kaye (Travel and General) moved into travel bonding. I remember so many faces, hear so many voices of members long since gone from the association.
I still remember how nervous I was when I attended my first meeting, how much courage it took to actually speak at a meeting about a year later and how frightened I was of journalists.
When I attended my first press launch I made sure I was allocated a table well away from the action so that no journalist would ever be able to find Sunvil.
I owe a great deal to AITO and especially to Mike Bruce-Mitford (VFB Holidays) who was really the founder of what AITO is today. Mike taught us about quality, about attention to detail and pride in the job. In those days VFB was the role model to which we all aspired. Without the lessons learned then, Sunvil would not be what it is now. Many in AITO then were get rich quick or go bankrupt equally as quick merchants. That mentality slowly changed and the companies in the association now are far more stable and reliable.
AITO was the training ground for some of the best- known names in the industry. Justin Fleming (Panorama) and Ian Champness (now FSS) were once leading lights.
Portugal has hosted the AITO annual conference twice. It, too, has matured as a tourist destination and, like us, has learned many lessons along the way. This year the conference was in Porto, or Oporto as we in England know the capital of the Costa Verde. We all felt among friends. The Portuguese are down to earth and the least arrogant of the Mediterranean peoples. We have featured Portugal for many years now and it is by far the easiest country to operate to. They look after their heritage and have diversified their tourism to cater for many tastes. All in all, an excellent partner in business.