QA with John McEwan. Discussing the future of ABTA
This week I had the opportunity to interview John McEwan who is one of the two candidates for the role of chairman ABTA, the Travel association, an association that should be focusing more on the issues that affect travel consumers.
Why is holiday financial protection so confusing and what improvements are needed to make it more understandable for consumers so that we can make a more informed decision if the travel company fails or when booking our holiday?
In an ideal world there should be a common protection system for travel. And part of that would be for a single point of reference for consumers in the event of a business failure – this is a role that ABTA could potentially take on while the CAA continues to administer the business and financial end of the scheme.
What most people want to see is a universal protection scheme that goes beyond the traditional package market. That means a levy on all holiday elements – accommodation and flights. That way we could sweep away the confusion about what is and isn’t protected. Airlines have been against this and that is why the current inadequate system has remained in place.
I agree that it doesn’t do us any favours to have people referred to their credit card companies for refunds. There is a real fear in our industry that credit providers might not want to work with travel companies in the future if they are the ones taking on the risk all the time.
We don’t want the situation where people can’t pay for their travel by credit card, or are asked to pay a big fee for the privilege. This is another reason why sorting out the bonding issue must be a priority.
There are so many ways to book a holiday, and most consumers assume that they have been to a travel agent so it’s a package holiday that they have booked. So you think it’s the role of ABTA to ensure that their members spend time educating the consumer so that there are armed with the full facts before they book the holiday? I personally don’t think this happens.
ABTA certainly has a role when it comes to making sure travellers are fully informed and satisfied with their holiday purchase. Members must abide by a comprehensive Code of Conduct, which governs things such as booking conditions, communication and how complaints are handled as well as complying with relevant UK and EU legislation.
Historically the travel industry has never spoken about the issue of financial protection to consumers, because it was perceived as a negative thing to talk about businesses failing. But in recent months, big companies such as Thomson and Thomas Cook have been highlighting their ATOL bonding and the protection that offers.
Given the millions of holidays taken each year there is a tiny rate of complaint, which proves ABTA members are doing an excellent job on the whole. And the facts show that ABTA’s conduct committee is able to resolve the vast majority of issues to everyone’s satisfaction without the need for legal action.
Air Passenger Duty is a complete joke because there’s no proof that the millions generated is going towards helping the environment so what you think would be the perfect solution for the industry, consumers and the environment?
I don’t think people really have an issue with green taxation per se. The trouble with it is that there is no evidence that the money collected actually goes towards environmental issues. In fact, the Treasury has gone on record as saying it just goes into the general pot.
Nobody likes paying taxes, but consumers would accept it more readily if the money was ring-fenced and everyone could see where it was being spent – whether that was specific green projects or research on things such as cleaner fuels as you suggest.
The planned changes to APD, which will have a detrimental effect to some countries that really rely on tourism, show how the government doesn’t have a joined-up policy when it comes to travel and jobs.
It shows why the industry needs to speak with a united voice. Airlines, operators and agents are all against the way it is levied but the protests are very fragmented. Perhaps the ideal situation would be to link charges to load factors and incentivise airlines to operate cleaner, newer aircraft.
I was not aware that ABTA had ‘elections’ to elect its chairman. It will be a challenge because there’s so much to improve about the travel industry. What do you think are the biggest challenges ahead for the elected chairman?
ABTA current president Justin Fleming is now completing his three-year term in office and the decision has been taken to replace this role with an elected chairman, to increase transparency. So these elections are a historic first for the organisation. We’ve already touched on the major challenges for the chairman – APD and consumer protection are obviously the two hot topics.
ABTA is a very broad church so the new chairman has to embrace the whole of the industry to get it speaking with one voice, and not be divided down the historic lines of tour operators and travel agents.
ABTA really needs to start punching its weight in terms of lobbying – which will be in the interests of both travel companies and consumers. Inbound and outbound travel companies contribute a huge amount to the economy, employing hundreds of thousands of people in the UK.
I’ll be taking an interest in wider business issues too, such as red tape, law and taxation, so the sector goes from strength to strength. ABTA must have the ear of government when it comes to tourism and transport policy-making.
Thanks to John for taking the time to respond to my questions. If you have any questions that you would like to ask then please leave them in the comments section.
This post was syndicated from the Travel Rants blog. Signup for the free Travel Newsletter or subscribe to the Travel RSS feed for regular updates like this.
Q&A with John McEwan. Discussing the future of ABTA
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