THE UNITED Federation of Travel Agents Association (UFTAA) recommended at a board meeting in Kuala Lumpur last week that membership to the association be extended to individual travel agencies.
With membership only open to national travel agents’ associations since UFTAA was set up in 1966, the decision marks a major shift in policy.
The recommendation will become a reality when endorsed by the 45th UFTAA Congress in Venice from November 19-24, which will be held onboard a cruise ship for the first time.
UFTAA president, Dr Mario Bevacqua, said: “UFTAA is the only global association of national associations of travel agents. Opening up membership directly to agents will enable the board to know better what their needs are.”
“Opening up membership will also enable us to harness the power of our network,” he added.
A white book listing various issues faced by agents, with solutions provided by experts, will be released at the 45th congress. “The white book will cover all issues which are part of an agent’s daily work ranging from visas to IATA, and provide solutions to them,” Bevacqua said.
Meanwhile, UFTAA’s board of directors has approved the Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents’ (MATTA) bid to host the 46th UFTAA Congress in Kuala Lumpur from November 17-22, 2012.
This would be Malaysia’s second time hosting the congress since 2002, when it was attended by about 250 travel agents.
Participation next year is expected to be open to all travel agents given the proposed changes in membership criteria. “We will be doing it on a bigger scale next year. We are targeting for about 1,000 agents to attend,” said MATTA president, Mohd Khalid Harun.
MATTA will form a team with Tourism Malaysia, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau and the Malaysia Association of Hotels to plan the event. “Hosting the congress in Malaysia will provide an ideal opportunity to create awareness among travel agents on Visit Malaysia Year 2013,” Khalid said.
By N. Nithiyananthan
