Larry Lo, CEO, Asia at Westminster Travel
THE Society of IATA Passenger Agents (SIPA) in Hong Kong has made a leadership reshuffle as part of renewed efforts to take a stronger stand against “industry and commercial issues directly affecting the livelihood of its members”.
SIPA last week accepted the resignation of its chairman Gary Leung, from Poloair International (China), who stepped down in order to focus on his other business and trade commitments, according to a statement by the association. Larry Lo from Westminster Travel will succeed Leung.
Jason Shum from Nan Hwa Express Travel Service also resigned from SIPA’s executive committee in order to focus on his current term as the chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents.
Going forward, SIPA said its new executive committee, which sees former chairmen Francis Bagaman from American Lloyd Travel Service, Sunil Nanda from GC Nanda & Sons, and Martin Wong from Citizen Thunderbird coming back on board, has agreed on new priorities and that working groups have been established to map out an action plan for the next 60 days.
Issues that SIPA hope to address include “the impact of increased non-commissionable levies, a revised IATA’s New Gen ISS accreditation and settlement system, and new GDS charges and airline content fees, which are merely a veiled attempt for airlines to recover their distribution costs from their travel agency customers,” it stated.
SIPA was formed in 1978 to protect the specific interests of IATA appointed agents in Hong Kong.
