The Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association first held its Travel Awards dinner in 1992. Chloe Berman reports how the organisation has changed in the past 20 years
Twenty years ago, former SPAA president and current secretary Janice Hogarth was elected the first female member of the SPAA council. Entering a room full of sombre-looking men in suits was a daunting prospect.
“It used to be the ‘old guard’, all very polite and secretive,” she recalls. “Everything was done behind closed doors.”
That same day the SPAA held its first Travel Awards.
The awards are still thriving, but the SPAA is a very different beast. Today the association prides itself on communication.
Current president Kevin Thom, managing director of QA Business Travel in Aberdeen, explained: “In the past, members didn’t know what the council was doing. Now we’re much more transparent, we’re stronger, and we’re more politically active.”
They may have occurred under the radar but, over the past 20 years, the association has had many notable triumphs.
Hogarth recalls the days when customers could board British Airways’ Glasgow-London shuttle and buy their ticket from a trolley. “SPAA stopped that,” she says. “From the airline perspective we were always strong.”
For Thom, one victory that really stands out is a two-year battle with Iata, which resulted in Scottish agents being able to continue paying airlines on a monthly basis rather than weekly or fortnightly as proposed.
“Being up in Scotland, we’ve always got a different take on things; we’re not afraid to go it alone,” says Thom.
The association has “gone it alone” on the thorny issue of financial protection and continues to argue passionately for airlines’ inclusion in a universal levy to replace Atol.
The SPAA has also lobbied heavily on APD, working with Abta on the Fair Tax on Flying campaign.
Just last week, Hogarth played an active part in the first meeting of the Cross-Party Group on Aviation at the Scottish Parliament, where Keith Brown, Scotland’s transport minister, called for Scotland to be given power over the tax.
Overcoming the SPAA’s ‘parochial’ image has been a challenge, but Thom believes any last barriers have been broken down. “Over the last few years we have formed strong relationships with Abta, Advantage and the GTMC,” he says.
However, one issue that has undermined the association’s claim to be the voice of the Scottish travel trade is the fact that Barrhead Travel – the largest agency in Scotland – is no longer a member. “We have told him [chairman Bill Munro] that the door is open,” says Thom.
The absence of Barrhead hasn’t stopped SPAA growing to 74 members, which translates to around 250 shops, and a new tranche of 25 homeworkers has now joined. Hogarth is also working on expanding SPAA’s associate membership to include tourist boards.
FutureSPAA, a networking group for under-35s, has grown in prominence under the leadership of Gayle Gordon.
“It makes young people think about the industry, when for many it’s just a nine-to-five job,” says Thom. “That’s why Future SPAA is so important. We’re engaging members like never before.”