MUCH of the interest in ABTA’s restructuring proposals has been on the travel agent side. But tour operator representatives have not been idle.
The Tour Operators’ Council has held lengthy discussions to thrash out the detail of the changes and ensure we retain the best of the old arrangements within the new structure. I was encouraged by the response of the 60 tour operators who attended a special meeting we arranged at Newman Street in June.
The meeting gave us a strong mandate to move forward and streamline ABTA’s structure.
Feedback also indicated the need to ensure that tour operator members have the opportunity to contribute to future decision-making, continue to develop new services and also provide a contact point for tour operators at Newman Street.
We plan to retain and develop the tour operator forums in London and Manchester that former TOC chairman Warren Sandral introduced. A single point of contact for members within the ABTA secretariat to parallel the arrangements that are already in place for travel agents will also be in place by next year.
But it is not the structure but the services that ABTA delivers to its members that will determine its success. There has been a sea change at Newman Street in the last few years in terms of service delivery. We can see this in the increasingly professional way in which ABTA handles its regulatory role and the close relationship it has forged with the Civil Aviation Authority.
We can also see it in the management of the captive funds that are held off shore and the stewardship of the association’s resources which has cut the cost of ABTA membership.
This change has been most apparent in the range of services the association provides and the quality of advice members receive. Many members I talk to are unaware of the advice ABTA can give them on brochure wording, their employment contracts, their Web sites, their VAT returns and their marketing strategies.
We are streamlining our structure and introducing a single tier of decision-making in order to build on these services. We want to create a sharper, more responsive organisation that will attract the best brains in the industry.
Furthermore, we will save over £100,000 in running costs that can be ploughed back for the benefit of members.
I therefore urge alltour operator members tosupport the reforms and to get their voting papers back to Newman Street before the extraordinary general meeting on November 4.