IATA/UFTAA

On August 23, President Jacqueline de Rey met with Tom Murphy and Bob Hutt. Main issue: relations update in IATA/UFTAA Training Programmes (courses are currently reviewed and updated). A refresher course could be set up. The IATA/UFTAA Marketing Course is on hand and should be ready in the early 1997. This course is not only aimed at airline distribution agencies, but also, and this is very valuable, at travel agents specialized in incoming. This course is not only for staff, but also for travel agencies managers and executives: How to develop a new marketing approach to secure present clientele and develop new one? The aim: a set of performing tools to tackle current change.

UFTAANet

The preparations for UFTAANet start-up are actively going ahead. The on-line consumer magazine. Universal Travel has been successfully launched in Australia and New Zealand. Numerous National Associations have expressed their interest in this project.

STOCKHOLM CONGRESS

119 Governments were represented at the First World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children . Facing the worldwide global turn reached by this real plague, many voices went in order to require that child abuses be termed a crime. Jacqueline de Rey, keynote speaker for the tourist session, highlighted the involvement of the travel trade in this flight: Children and Travel Agent's Charter, worldwide distribution of 2,000,.000 informative leaflets, participation in the ECPAT campaign, ECPT (End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism) is now changed into: End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography And the Trafficking of Children for Sexual purposes - A new orientation demonstration how this problem is international and considers various aspects.

Several recommendations or suggestions have been drafted for use in the travel trade. This campaign being enforced for the next five years, all members are invited to use on any printed material the specific logo adopted by UFTAA Sample can be obtained on request.

FISAVET/AOC CONGRESS

The third Congress of West and Central Africa Federation of Travel Agencies Association was held in Dakar, Senegal, from 10 to 13 September. President de Rey attended, invited by FISAVET President, Prince Emmanuel Ngassa Happi and Assane Fall, President of Senegal Association of Travel Agents, UFTAA Director for Region. 13 out of the 15 member Association attended and 9 other countries were represented . This very first class quality meeting attracted IATA, WTO, governments representatives and management from many airlines. The President took this opportunity of the meeting to visit Cote d'Ivoire and Cameroon associations.

UFTAA/IRU MEETING

In Geneva, on September 10th, the UFTAA/IRU Committee - Danilo Zini and Juan Molist - met with IRU representatives led by Edmond Tinguely. Topics of interest for both parties were safety on board motorcoaches (safety belts), traffic restrictions in some cities, sustainable development, UFTAANet. An IRU delegation attended the Pattaya Congress.

IDEAS EXCHANGE

You all have ideas to be shared….or bad experiences not to follow!

If you feel that an issue or an initiative within your association might be of interest to the other members, please let us know! Thus UFTAA will be able to help and coordinate out mutual efforts for a more effective action. Thank you in advance!

FROM UFTAA REGIONS

ASIA/PACIFIC - A new regional association: UAPA - At a summit meeting held in Bangkok on August 31st, the UFTAA Asia Pacific Alliance (UAPA), was created incorporating the following countries: Australia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The Alliance is formed to improve the communication and implement more effectively UFTAA'S policies in the Region. It will be effective by 1st January 1997 within the overall UFTAA structure. With the globalisation of travel and airlines strategies alliances it was considered essential that the region's travel agent associations should exercise their commercial and unified strength.

This regional co-operation will be more effective in protecting the interests of their travel agent members. To coordinate and facilitate the organization, Mr. John Dart has been appointed the Secretary General and will be based in Sydney, Australia. Warmest wishes to UAPA!.

SINGAPORE - NATAS. Mr. Kenny Goh has been elected President of NATAS last July. Executive Committee members are: Mr. Tan Chee Chye, Deputy President; Mr. Prithpal Singh, Secretary General; Mr. Eugenr Lim, Honorary Treasurer. Vice President are; Mr. James Ang (Surface Transport), Mrs. Janet Tan-Collis (Inbound), Mr. Lee Liat Cheng (Outbound), Mr. William Tan (Ticketing, Mr. Robert Khoo, Past-President of NATAS? Will take the position of ex-officio for a one year term.

INDIA-BSP launched on August 9. The plan will include 32 IATA airlines and more than 1200 IATA approved agents by mid-1997. Presently domestic tickets cannot be issued out of BSP. The tickets issued by participating airlines already exceed four millions, growing at six per cent per annum. BSP India shall use IATA's latest processing software, ISIS, developed by IATA in BSP Australia and now in use in China, East Africa, regionally out of Australia for Micronesia and the French Pacific Territories. President de Rey attended TAAI congress in Goa.

AUSTRALIA - AFTA. John Dart retirement. New Chief Executive. John Dart, AFTA Chief Executive, retired on November 1st. AFTA President Byron Roberts, has announced the appointment of former South Australia State Government Minister, Susan Lenehan, as the Federation's new Chief Executive effective November 1st.

Our congratulations and wishes to Susan Lenehan. Congratulations and warmest regards to John Dart, who was presented the prestigious Marie Watson Blake Memorial Chairman's Award. John, our most sincere thanks for your constant support to UFTAA.

NEW ZEALAND - TAANZ seeks increase in domestic air commission. Ernst & Young was commissioned by TAANZ in April 1995 to relate the costs of processing and selling domestic air travel to commissions provided by the airlines on such travel.

Some conclusions of Ernest & Young report: domestic air travel accounts for 44% of total transactions: sales of domestic air tickets represent 30% of total sales (international air travel: 35% the largest sales category); average commission of 6.9% for domestic air travel (international : 10.8%); average profit for international travel is 3.2% (domestic air travel has an average loss of 0.2% on sales). TAANZ will not give up on domestic air commission increase, has declared the association in its newsletter, Update. Many thanks to TAANZ for this active support.

ZIMBABWE - AZTA Has met with the Board of Airlines Representatives (BAR). The issues were: incentives directly to travel agents staff by airlines, recognition of the Travel Agent Card, AZTA regular representation to BAR.

KENYA - KATA at its last meeting, this September, had invited speakers to express their views on the following topics: visas, security, Internet. 15 new members attended. We are most interested in conclusion of that meeting, as subject are world wide issues, most discussed at UFTAA's Board meetings.

SPAIN - ACAV has appointed a new Managing Secretary, Ms Marian Muro Olle previously legal adviser for the association, since Ms Ana Rivero, Managing Secretary, had decided to give a new professional direction to her career.

SWITZERLAND - FSAV on Internet - Home page with a presentation of the association membership list can be consulted ). FSAV hold its 69th General Assembly on 15th November, 1996 in Basel. UFTAA President attended.

INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

World Tourism Organizations (WTO): WTO and FIYTO, the Federation of International Youth Organizations collaborate on Youth travel impact study. The study aims to better understand the economic facts of youth travel in order to combat the vision of forthcoming World Youth and Student Travel Conference, on the Cold Coast, Australia, 29 September/5 October,1996.

For the first time, and subsequent to the Stockholm Congress, WTO has now decided to separate children sexual tourism from general sexual tourism issues. A task force has been established where UFTAA will of course take place.

In Dakar, at FISAVET Congress, WTO was present and delivered a much noted presentation on sustainable tourism.

JUST OUT

Dictionary of Travel, Tourism and Hospitality (Prof.S.Medlik). the 2nd edition has been updated to include terms used in North America, Asia and Australasia. Contents: dictionary of terms, list of abbreviations, countries of the world, bibliography.

UPCOMING EVENTS

January 1997 IATA Consumer Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.

January 1997 " The Future of UFTAA" Working Group Meeting in Bogota January 1997 UFTAA

Board Meeting in Monaco April 1997 Secretaries General Meeting - Israel

May 11 - 14 UFTAA Automation Seminar - Amsterdam, Netherlands.

November 1997 31st UFTAA Congress in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

UFTAA News Update
U.F.T.A.A.