AFTA UPDATE

From the Australian Federation of Travel Agents

It’s been pleasing to see our AFTA members again engaging with their local Members of Parliament as part of AFTA’s

National Mobilisation Campaign as we continue to the push for ongoing support into the first half of 2022 or until international travel resumes.

This activation and engagement at a local electorate, especially in the current noisy news and political cycle is a key amplification tool which supports AFTA’s ongoing advocacy. AFTA and our membership base have together built a very powerful and growing groundswell of support. AFTA continues to have frank conversations with Government on the urgent need for support whether an extension of the Grants program or the national implementation of the support in place in NSW for our entire sector. We also want an urgent review of the Government’s 80% guarantee Bank loans scheme which is moribund with restrictions and red tape.

Our sector is at crisis point. The ask remains simple – our sector has been in hard lockdown since Mar 2020 and we need support to keep our doors open and to retain the expertise, experience and skills in our teams to keep supporting our clients.

This focus on skills – both developing them and retaining them – is another priority for our sector and for the AFTA Board and team. We welcome progress towards a more “normal” existence. Vaccination rates continue to climb. Key milestones keep advancing such as the new Digital Passenger Declaration platform announced yesterday afternoon.

The AFTA Board and team would also like to thank the many members who have taken time to provide such positive feedback and compliments on our successes, impact and support. Each and every one of the messages and calls is very much appreciated.