AFTA Update

From Tom Manwaring, Chairman

IT’S been another full year and AFTA is proud of the role we have played in supporting our members through the pandemic recovery period. As we finish the year, I have been reflecting on how quickly things change.

As we ended 2021, AFTA was in robust discussion to ensure our small and medium sized members received the last tranche of funding of the COVID-19 Consumer Travel Support Program (CTSP) and in March it was delivered.

By July, we were conducting a review of ATAS which resulted in over 100 submissions from industry and consumer groups on what needed to change.

We listened, and a new charter and code was launched in August.

In Oct, we brought back the NTIAs with over 1,200 people celebrating our survival and importantly our future.

Our industry remains in crisis across all facets: staff shortages, workflows, outdated practices, compounded by supplier capacity constraints, schedule chaos and commission-based structure destruction with surging customer demand, to name a few.

This wave of redesign continues and will be our greatest challenge over the next years.

AFTA/ATAS members have never been more important, as the role of relevant and experienced information, and accessibility, becomes paramount.

Last week the AFTA Board held its final meeting of the year.

The main item for discussion was the updating of the constitution and the voting framework which prompted robust discussion.

The focus of this work is ensuring our structures are representative of our entire membership and that we have clear lines of feedback to the AFTA team and Board.

We look forward to sharing the Board’s recommended position with Members in the New Year as part of the consultation process.

I want to thank my fellow Board Directors for their continued hard work and commitment to our industry. On behalf of the Board and the team at AFTA, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.