Balancing the needs of all agent and operator members to offer a “united front” is critical to ABTA’s future, according to election contender John McEwan.
For McEwan, who has worked in the industry for 40 years, this means everything from sorting out the consumer protection “mess” to making the Council of Regions more representative of agents’ views.
It also means further government lobbying on issues such as Air Passenger Duty and raising ABTA’s profile at ministerial level, and working towards a single-bond system to avoid members paying for an ABTA and ATOL bond.
“ABTA needs to be a catalyst for change,” said McEwan. “One of the key challenges for the chairman is to create a feeling of togetherness of total ABTA membership rather than having areas of potential conflict. If we want to move ABTA forward we need to do that as one team.”
And in what could be seen by some as a swipe at his competitor’s bid to court the “ordinary” agent’s vote, he said: “You are not going to succeed in any role if you are seen to be in any way parochial and looking after just one segment of the membership.”
McEwan is confident his experience – spanning the multiples and independent agency sector – will count in his favour.
He began life as a high-street agent for Thomas Cook, but quickly progressed from shop floor to board room, holding senior retail posts at Thomas Cook and Thomson. For the past four and a half years he has been chief executive of independent agency consortium Advantage.
McEwan would not comment on rumours one of the vertically-integrated giants would quit ABTA if he fails to win but stressed the views of large operators and independent agents should be met.
A key issue for both is consumer protection, with the current example of confusion over who is covered following Freedom Direct’s failure. “We need clarity. Consumers are caught in the middle; they think they are protected by ATOL and then the CAA says they are not,” he said.
Fears of a rise in the ATOL Protection Contribution, known as the £1 levy, must also be addressed. “Going from £1 to £3 is not solving the problem; it’s just putting more money into the CAA’s coffers. We need to keep the momentum going, putting pressure on government to have the right sort of consultative process.”
McEwan favours a single bond system run by ABTA to reduce financial pressure on members paying for two bonds and allowing them to be more confident in selling protected holidays.
“Why can’t we create a system where ABTA becomes the vehicle for bonding and CAA takes the lead on the levy? If ABTA has a good risk programme that should be sufficient for the CAA to say it no longer requires separate bonds.”
This is linked to improving consumer recognition of what ABTA stands for, he added.
Other pressing issues for ABTA include effective government lobbying through a dedicated resource, better communication with grass-roots agents and not being overly bureaucratic, he said.
McEwan’s election campaign has already started with letters to all members this week, and additional letters to all Advantage members.
He is quick to dismiss concerns some agents will vote against him because he heads up a rival consortium. “I don’t think being the head of Advantage is the issue. The industry is at a critical stage of its development and needs someone to represent all members’ interests.”
Mcewan’s top five election promises
- Make ABTA a catalyst for change and increase value of the association to members
- Ensure all sectors of industry are heard, and gain support of other industry organisations, such as Association of Independent Tour Operators, to harness the collective strength of ABTA
- Lobby government on behalf of the travel industry
- Bring resolution on issues such as ATOL regulations
- Broaden consumer protection, and tackle rising cost of Air Passenger Duty