TCF terminations trigger latest Mayo ATAS plea

TCF terminations trigger latest Mayo ATAS plea
By admin


The Travel Compensation Fund’s termination of another five travel agencies due to consumer claims is further proof that insolvency insurance must be a requirement of the new industry accreditation scheme, according to TravelManagers.

Chairman Barry Mayo said the home-based retail firm’s concerns have reached an “all-time high” with news of the termination of five more Tribal Travel outlets from the scheme, in addition to the five terminated on February 17.

The new termination notice takes the number of agencies facing consumer claims since January 1 to three agents with twelve outlets in five states, he stressed. As a result, he again called for the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) to make travel intermediary insolvency insurance a mandatory part of its new ATAS scheme.

“Today’s announcement of further travel agent closures across Australia, due to their failure to properly account to suppliers for monies received from customers, further highlights the real concerns for consumer protection and the importance of getting it right with ATAS,” Mayo said.

“As from July 1, without mandatory Travel Intermediary Insolvency Insurance, the potential for a significant number of clients to be adversely affected increases dramatically.”

He advised AFTA to look to its overseas counterparts such as the Travel Agents Association of New Zealand and the Association of British Travel Agents.

“The current regime in New Zealand under the TAANZ bonding scheme is designed to provide consumers with an assurance that if they deal with a TAANZ member they will at least receive some protection against the travel agents' failure to properly account to suppliers or other intermediaries for monies received from customers for that purpose,” he said.

“Whilst there is no legal requirement for travel agents to offer financial protection for their customers in Britain ABTA insists on it being a condition for ABTA membership.

“TravelManagers strongly believes AFTA needs to ensure it does make Travel Agent Insolvency Insurance a mandatory requirement for ATAS accreditation.”

Mayo “implored” the travel agent community to engage on the issue before the end of state and territory licensing of travel agents on June 30.

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