After nine months of planning and consultation, the third round of workshops regarding AFTA’s Travel Accreditation Scheme (ATAS) commenced in Brisbane on Thursday.

AFTA reported “overwhelming” industry support towards the newly introduced scheme, with the event a full house.

Travel intermediaries came along to gain information on how they become travel accredited with ATAS, along with a progress report on preparations for ATAS’ July 1 launch.

“We had some great feedback from workshop attendees today, many expressing their intentions to join the scheme – their enthusiasm towards ATAS is always very encouraging,” AFTA chief executive Jayson Westbury said.

“ATAS is an accreditation scheme which the travel industry can be immensely proud of. It is the product of years of extensive collaboration, and the most suitable solution to accommodate the diversity of our industry.”

Attendees were briefed on how the scheme will be brought to life, how to apply for ATAS accreditation and updated on implementation.

The “Becoming Travel Accredited” workshops are being led by Gary O’Riordan, AFTA general manager accreditation.

“We are thrilled to announce that these workshops also mark the formal launch of ATAS in Brisbane today, with applications now open and strong interest already being shown throughout the travel industry,” O’Riordan said.

“The workshops are a very important step in opening the communication channels to travel intermediaries, so they can make more informed decisions about joining ATAS. Our aim is to be as transparent and informative as possible and we look forward to seeing other attendees at the workshops in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.”