Abta will review its operations and subscriptions model after reporting a £15 million loss in its financial year to last June, but chief executive Mark Tanzer does not expect the association to “slim down” services.
He told Travel Weekly: “We’re in a strong position as the industry gets going. Abta has good reserves to be able to carry on doing what we do.
“We obviously need to have a financial model that is viable, and it’s my job to deliver that. But the fundamentals are in place.”
Abta is reviewing the services it provides, but Tanzer insisted: “I’m interested in putting more value on the table for members. I’d rather they feel more positive about the subscription, that they get more value from it than go in the opposite direction by cutting services. We’re going to look at how we can do better and do more.
“It’s not slimming down. We do regular member research on the services we offer. Trust me, if something is not important and not valued, we don’t do it. The services we provide are needed by members. That is what all the research tells us.
“We’re a broad church. All of our members want certain things like the brand, the customer assurance and financial protection solutions. Others want different aspects. Some may want help on sustainability more than others. Others want legal advice.
“We have to balance these needs across the member categories.”
Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, Tanzer noted: “The renewal rate of members has been very high. We collected our latest round of subscriptions at the beginning of January, including the first half-yearly subscriptions for agents with subscriptions under £3,000 and over 99% were collected.
“The fact that companies want to be Abta members even when cash is very tight shows the value of the organisation.”
But he added: “Subscriptions based on most-recent turnover aren’t going to work [from July] when people haven’t had any turnover. The board will have to decide how we deal with that before revenues start to return.
“We want to be efficient and to demonstrate we’re run on a lean basis. But we also want to continue to provide the services members pay for.”
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