We need an armistice

AFTA CEO Darren Rudd has implored agents to drop arms and accept this week’s decision to appoint Webjet CCO Shelley Beasley to the Federation’s board, calling on the sector to present a united front in the lead up to the Oct Federal budget for the sake of the survival of the industry.

Speaking with TD Publisher Bruce Piper during part two of a wide-ranging chat hosted by The Travel Industry Hub, Rudd said it was crucial that all parts of the industry work together to get the best outcome from government.

“Today, I have to declare an armistice, we have to draw a line in the sand now and we all have to get on one side to approach government for the very existence of the sector,” he said.

“I know there’s a lot of raw emotion attached to this issue but unless we fill in those trenches and we get on the same side, this sector will not survive in the form that it is,” Rudd added.

He also revealed the industry body would be opening the door to its AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme (ATAS) to non-members for the first time, including wholesalers and operators, to ensure the success of its proposed budget submission.

“It requires us to represent the entire sector,” Rudd said.

AFTA’s chief emphasised that the main focus over the coming weeks would be a strong grassroots push, calling on everyone in travel to approach their Federal MPs to organise a meeting to press the industry’s case, and promising that he and AFTA Board members are also happy to join in.

“We cannot leave anything on the football field, we have to give this everything,” he implored.

“The only battle we have to face is to get funding... and to survive.”

THE time for travel agents to connect with each other and contact their local Federal Representatives is now, says AFTA CEO Darren Rudd, who this week formally kicked off AFTA’s National Mobilisation Program to secure sector-specific support of $125m from the Federal Govt.

“Right across Australia we want everyone in our sector to come together in an organised way so that we cover each and every electorate,” he said.

“This has to be democracy at its finest and our members at their finest... everyone is in Canberra asking for money, but not everyone is doing it with this kind of holistic, grassroots approach.”

Access the toolkit for how to coordinate a meeting with your local MP by CLICKING HERE.

Pictured discussing the finer details of the program are TD’s Bruce Piper, AFTA’s Darren Rudd and The Travel Industry Hub cofounder Richard Taylor.