ATAS renewals under way

The Australian Federation of Travel Agents is currently working its way through more than 800 renewals under the AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme (ATAS), with CEO Dean Long saying

“it is great to see some of the travel businesses that went into hibernation because of COVID are now reopening”.

An update from the Federation overnight touts the benefits of being part of ATAS, saying it is the “largest and most representative accreditation program in the country”.

“Your ATAS accreditation also sends a message that you are committed to industry self-regulation and improving consumer confidence in Australia’s travel businesses... in a world where support and credibility is essential to success, ATAS is critical support for you, your clients and other travel businesses,” the update notes.

A snapshot of AFTA’s activity over the six months to 30 Jun highlights 22 political meetings, 22 AFTA mainstream CEO and Chairman media interviews and 153 AFTA member media stories.

The Federation’s team dealt with 94 complaints relating to refunds, ticketing, misleading conduct and products/services, and there are currently 1,186 ATAS accredited entities and 533 additional locations.

Over the period, nine members voluntarily withdrew, and there are currently seven new ATAS applications under assessment.

“The ATAS process as most will know, is more than an upload and you’re done...it is a rigorous process that examines a business’ performance against stringent financial criteria, examining profitability, client funds, insurance coverages and business processes,” Long noted.

He added that a review of the ATAS scheme is currently under way, with details to be revealed later this month.