AFTA View
By Dean Long, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Federation of Travel Agents
AS WE head into the end of this financial year, it’s wonderful to hear from so many members that enquiries and bookings are continuing to climb and that not only are you seeing steady increases in revenue flowing through, but that there’s an increasing sense of us all being through the worst of this.
Alongside this is the reality that replacing the people and skills lost to our sector is going to continue to be a massive challenge. With more than a third of our people gone, this is not an insignificant gap. This is and must continue to be a focus for AFTA as we work with Government across this great country including the incoming Albanese Government.
But it’s also about so much more than that. AFTA exists to serve each and every one of our members, from independents through to those who are branded or part of a network, from individual working from home agents to TMCs, from leisure to corporate, through to the wider AFTA family including tour and cruise operators. We are proudly a broad church and we are at a pivotal time in our reinvigoration.
Just this month, the AFTA Board met in Sydney for a workshop on the new constitution. The aim of this project is to ensure the constitution will deliver on the current and future requirements of the Association and provide clear objectives for operating.
There has been over three months of consultation with Board members and industry leaders, and a draft discussion paper will be shared with members and the greater sector in the coming month. This is a once-in-a-generation project, taking all of the lessons learnt from the establishment of ATAS, the pandemic, and ongoing evolution of the Sector. Please take the time to share your views via the discussion paper. There is much to be done. We need to do it together, unified and all pulling in the same direction. We look forward to hearing from you.
