The article on ABTA president Steven Freudmann’s £50,000 a year expenses (Travel Weekly January 27) illustrates that ABTA is malfunctioning and those elected to look after the interests of the members are not doing their duty.
The president did not receive a single vote when his office was extended for a year last year, or come to that the year before, either. The ‘in crowd’ of the Tour Operators’ Council and Travel Agents’ Council are the only people entitled to vote for the president and even they were not given the opportunity to so do.
Why? Because, he was unopposed. They argue that if there is only one candidate, voting is not necessary. It is. It gives the council members the opportunity of expressing their satisfaction or otherwise with the president’s performance. Should the dissenting votes exceed 50% he would not be elected or renewed. Believe me, in such a case there would be no shortage of candidates for the election which would follow. This situation should not be allowed to continue.
The president should be a full-time employee of ABTA. His salary should be an average of the last of his three years of employment, plus reasonable expenses to a determined formula. That would stop any claims that he was either underpaid or overpaid.
Isn’t it time ABTA was fundamentally modernised? The members need to be asked what they want ABTA 2000 to do for them.
Ron Ellison, former ABTA Travel Agents’ Council member,
West Moors, Ferndown, Dorset