THE Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) draft discussion paper urging reform of the travel sector (TD 24 Aug) has prompted responses from the other industry organisations cited in the proposal, with AFTA Chair Tom Manwaring saying the issues raised by CATO have already been the subject of long-term discussions with government.
“AFTA continues to lobby on these highly sensitive matters including in our pre-Budget submission…the chances of success are not elevated as a result of publicly airing these issues in this way,” he said.
The CATO plan envisages the expansion of the existing AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme (ATAS) to be jointly administered by CATO, AFTA and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), with bookings through all travel agent, tour operator and cruise line participants protected against supplier insolvency via a compulsory levy on bookings.
Manwaring noted that AFTA had already been looking at the appropriate evolution of ATAS and the currently in-hibernation AFTA Chargeback Scheme (ACS) for almost 12 months, adding “it’s a highly complex matter”.
He also confirmed that the need for specific consumer support had been raised in Mar this year for Government consideration.
“We have had preliminary discussions with CATO and prefer to continue these discussions in a collaborative way rather than via the media,” the AFTA Chair added.
A CLIA spokesman acknowledged the report, noting CLIA had not been consulted about the plan.
“CLIA will nevertheless take time to consider the discussion document and provide its perspective…unlike CATO and AFTA, CLIA is a global trade association and may therefore be limited in its ability to become directly involved as suggested”.
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Source: traveldaily