CATO View
By Brett Jardine, Managing Director, Council of Australian Tour Operators
AS CONSUMER sentiment towards travel continues to gain momentum with an increase in confidence, our members are experiencing more interest and enquiry for international travel in 2022 and beyond.
Destinations around the world are now reopening to tourism with decreasing restrictions, which is providing more clarity and confidence to our industry.
We welcome the timely news of additional Government funding to support the industry, which will allow many businesses to invest in resources as they rebuild to meet the pent-up demand.
A strong Australian based network of agents and suppliers will result in consumers being able to travel safely overseas and with confidence.
To capitalise on this demand and as part of CATO’s annual strategic planning, we recently conducted a series of member focus groups in Sydney (1 March), Brisbane (9 March) and Melbourne (15 March).
The goal of these focus groups was to acknowledge that with the everchanging environment we find ourselves in, it’s important to receive input from our members, to ensure we are providing the best possible support and focusing our efforts in a strategic manner so our members gain maximum benefit from their CATO membership in the coming 12 months.
As an industry body we strive to keep abreast of global trends and what is needed in this new era of travel.
These efforts extend to being closely connected to our members with support as they adapt and reinvent their businesses.
The CATO Board will hold a formal strategy day on 12April to review its current activity and update future plans for the short and medium term.
An important component of the Board Strategy Day will be to evaluate member feedback from the focus groups and determine how this influences our strategy, activity, and communications over the coming 12 months.
