3 May High powered Travel delegations meet with Senator Penny Wong and Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell May 3, 2023 By Amanda Rixon Media Release 0 A high powered delegation of Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Travel Businesses and Suppliers has met with Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Penny Wong to discuss the key challenges and opportunities ahead for the sector. AFTA organised the in-depth briefing in Sydney hosted by Sabre with attendees including: David Greenland, CT Partners Chair and AFTA Director Greg McCarthy, Corporate Travel Management Australia & New Zealand CEO Simon Roll, Sabre Incoming Country Manager David Hosking, The Travel Corporation Australia CEO Tom Beadle, Intrepid COO Ram Chhabra, CVFR Travel Group CEO David Goldman, Goldman Travel Joint Managing Director Penny Spencer, Spencer Travel Managing Director Justin Kestel, Qatar Airways Regional Manager Australia & New Zealand Jane McKeon, Cover-More Head of Government Ben Angell, CLIA Chair Yohan Silva, Helloworld Circular Quay Owner Lara Behrens, Bench Africa Director of Marketing Louis Arul, Singapore Airlines Regional Vice President for South West Pacific Peter Hosper, ATPI Commercial Director James Hewlett, Collette Head of Marketing Chris Fundell, Globus Family of Brands Head of Marketing – Australasia. In Melbourne, Andy Buerckner of Platinum Travel Corporation met with Minister Farrell to discuss the need for ongoing support in the skills space, an area which is the biggest handbrake on our sector's overall recovery. Quotes attributable to AFTA CEO Dean Long “As we exit the pandemic and travel recovers, AFTA advocacy continues to focus on educating Australia's leaders on the power of ATAS travel agents, tour operators and wholesale businesses who help Australians travel. This work builds on the successful advocacy that delivered on adding travel consultants to the National Skills List for the first time in over 10 years.” “Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong engaged in a wide-ranging discussion of the Government's foreign policies and the role of travel in delivering these policies, as well as the role of agents, the industry's promotion of sustainability, increased airline competition, the ethics of organising and selling tours to areas of the world with questionable human rights records, and the importance of travel insurance.” “In Melbourne, Andy Buerckner of Platinum Travel Corporation met with Minister Farrell to discuss the need for ongoing support in the skills space, an area which is the biggest handbrake on our sector's overall recovery.” Related Articles AFTA’s National Taskforce for Workforce and Careers meets with Minister for Skills and Training With the skills and workforce shortages the biggest brake on Travel’s full recovery post-pandemic, The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) Workforce Taskforce today met with Minister for Skills and Training, The Hon. Brendan O’Connor. Travel has a new home – the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) The Australian Travel Industry has a new peak industry body representing travel agents and advisors, tour operators, consolidators and wholesalers replacing the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) effective today. ATIA Canberra-bound in strong support for Australian Travel With Parliament sitting again this week, The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) is Canberra-bound to lobby across a number of key areas for its members and the future success of the Australian travel industry. Rising Costs and Impacts of Flight Cancellations on Australian Travel and Tourism, Revealed by ATIA Research The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) today draws attention to the significant economic impact of domestic flight cancellations, as detailed in a recent research paper commissioned by the ATIA. AFTA’s Women in Travel Summit now sold out Tickets to the highly anticipated Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) Women in Travel Summit (March 13) have now sold out. Industry Experts Convene for Inaugural ATAS Advisory Committee Meeting It’s straight to action for the ATAS Advisory Committee (AAC) with briefings from several experts and committee appointments with David Walker named Chair and Scott Darlow Vice-Chair. Showing 0 Comment Comments are closed.