AFTA update

From AFTA’s chief executive, Jayson Westbury

It is hard to believe it and they seem to come round so quickly, but the one and only recognised travel industry awards in Australia, the National Travel Industry Awards (NTIA) are nearly here. NTIA has been serving the travel industry for decades and over the years the awards have been owned by a range of people. This includes past travel trade magazines, private people and in the past decade, AFTA. The NTIA has become the pinnacle benchmark standard for travel awards and this has not happened without a dedicated approach to ensuring that the NTIA are run professionally, are respected, valued and recognised by industry peers and consumers alike. That is by far the case for the NTIA and I hope that this will be the case for many more years to come. This Sat night (21 Jul) over 1,300 people from around the country will gather at the Sydney International Convention Centre to celebrate the success of so many. This year the new two-step judging process has been a success and provided those in the judged categories with a new level of response to elevate the process and standard. This can’t be replicated easily. There are over 10 years of knowledge that has gone into these improvements and I can’t wait to see the results. Of course the sponsors of NTIA, many who have been with AFTA for a long time and return year-on-year along with new sponsors who find value in supporting the Australian travel industry the way they do are bound to see the great value that this process brings across the industry and also on the evening on Sat. Each year AFTA looks to enhance and improve on both the awards process but also the evening itself and I am sure this year will be no exception, with some fantastic plans in place for those who will be joining in on the night and a few surprises along the way. All of us at AFTA continue to be totally committed to bring forward these important awards of recognition and I wish all the finalists all the very best of luck. If you happen to be attending, I can assure you that we are all set for another amazing evening of great food, entertainment, excitement and above all, industry networking on a scale that is very difficult to replicate. Bring it on – NTIA, the one and only Australian travel industry awards which the entire industry should be very proud of.