AFTA surplus increases
From AFTA’s chief executive, Jayson Westbury
THE Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) recorded a surplus of $11,805 for the year ending 31 Mar 2018, according to the federation’s annual report released last week.
The figure represents an increase on last year’s surplus of $9,247 ( TD 19 Jun 17).
Total revenue was $2.26m on last year’s $2.42m, with AFTA witnessing a drop in its most significant income stream of membership and accreditation, which it said was due to industry consolidation.
The federation had a total of 2,920 ATAS accredited locations spread throughout Australia as at 31 Mar 2018.
It approved 104 new applications for ATAS accreditation during the period and knocked back 29.
A number of ATAS accreditations were cancelled during the period, five due to a failure to demonstrate that the Business Compliance and Governance criteria were being met.
One ATAS accredited travel agent went into liquidation, which AFTA chief executive Jayson Westbury noted was “very disappointing” and had led to “an even more robust approach to the assessment of the financial status of members”.
During the year, AFTA received 549 complaints, with refunds and cancellations the main topics.
The number of complaints represented a 71% increase on 2016, which AFTA attributed to rising consumer awareness of ATAS and that ATAS Participants “are embracing the ATAS Complaints Escalation process”.
AFTA assisted in returning $18,911 to Australian consumers in 2017 via the ATAS complaints escalation process.
More from Jayson Westbury on page seven.
LAST week, AFTA released notice of its annual general meeting and with it our Annual Report for the year and financial statements to 31 Mar 2018. Pleasingly, AFTA is in a very strong financial state for a trade association and this is reflected in the results. Equally important are the activities of AFTA and the work that we have been doing over the past 12 months. The Annual Report shows all of this activity and the strong voice AFTA has become for travel agents both here in Australia, and more broadly around the globe. We have also reported on the activities of the ATAS accreditation scheme which shows excellent results for the year. While there have been a number of complaints made about ATAS participants over the year, the report outlines the general thrust of the sort of things consumers complain about and how ATAS addresses these for the benefit of both parties with mutual respect and with a view to reaching an agreed outcome. For the most part, these complaints are dealt with and resolved by the travel agent and the consumer directly but when some mediation is required, ATAS has a strong support process in place to mediate neutrally for both parties. If you have not yet had a chance to take a look at the AFTA Annual Report, CLICK HERE. You might also be unaware that ATAS has now launched its new website. To see the new look, CLICK HERE. This new consumer-facing ATAS website has already been achieving some great results as it allows AFTA members to set up their individual profiles to outline the specific areas of expertise they may have beyond that of being an outstanding, fantastic travel agent. The feedback from consumers has been terrific and we are really pleased with how this next generation interactive website can create a more meaningful and useful user experience for consumers as they seek out travel agents, and in the case of the profile being uploaded by the travel agent, a more unique and refined user experience. So, some exciting changes within the world of ATAS and a strong solid year for AFTA demonstrated by the results in the Annual Report.