CATO accreditation plan

THE Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) now expects to finalise the last phase of its accreditation process (TD 28 Jun 2021) by the end of the year.

Last year CATO MD Brett Jardine outlined plans for the creation of an “external independent accreditation scheme, fit-for-purpose for the land supply sector,” as part of sweeping changes to the CATO constitution.

After a Board update last week, CATO told TD the first three phases of the plan had been executed.

“CATO Members that have agreed to abide by our constitution and member code of conduct, have reviewed and implemented CATO’s industry standard booking terms and conditions (or equivalent) and have all appropriate insurances in place, are now recognised as ‘CATO Certified’,” CATO said.

The last piece of the puzzle relates to insurance, with the goal being to find a solution that can protect consumer funds and travel agent commissions in cases where Australian consumers are booking with CATO members - including via retail travel agents.

However, “a formal outcome from these discussions is taking longer than anticipated, as insurers remain very cautious in returning to market with travel related product,” CATO said.

The Council said tour operators and wholesalers invest heavily in product and marketing long before resellers become involved.

“As such this is a very different model that CATO believes should be treated very differently when it comes to accreditation, hence our lengthy discussions.

“We anticipate providing members with an update by 30 Sep, with a view to finalising the last phase of the framework by the end of the year,” CATO said.