Comments on: ABTA convention will cost £3k in carbon offsetting http://www.travel-rants.com/2008/07/29/abta-convention-will-cost-3k-in-carbon-offsetting/ Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:52:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Keith Betton http://www.travel-rants.com/2008/07/29/abta-convention-will-cost-3k-in-carbon-offsetting/#comment-116625 Keith Betton Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:42:24 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=1231#comment-116625 I have an interest in this as from 1993 to 2006 I was responsible for the organisation of the event when I was Head of Corporate Affairs at ABTA. As has been stated already we introduced the carbon offsetting of delegates' flights at a very early stage using Climate Care. We were the first significant event to do this within the UK travel industry - indeed one of the first big conferences of UK residents to do it at all. The charge was mandatory so it was paid regardless of whether the delegate care or not. While I accept the environmental arguments in favour of UK events there are two problems that a UK event faces. All of the travel conferences are helped by support from host tourist boards. In my experience UK tourist boards are generally not very interested in helping to subsidise a meeting of travel agents and tour operators, 80% of whose business is international outbound travel. Secondly, with an event in the UK that can be reached by public transport or car, there are few incentives to book early. With an overseas event there is usually limited airlift and if you book late you might not get flights - or you might have to pay full fare. No such limit is faced with a UK event. People then choose to book later, and as one of the motivations to book is that your competitors have booked, if everyone waits for everyone else to book, the event can fail. If it chooses a UK venue ABTA will need to come up with some clever ideas to motivate early booking. I have an interest in this as from 1993 to 2006 I was responsible for the organisation of the event when I was Head of Corporate Affairs at ABTA.

As has been stated already we introduced the carbon offsetting of delegates’ flights at a very early stage using Climate Care. We were the first significant event to do this within the UK travel industry – indeed one of the first big conferences of UK residents to do it at all. The charge was mandatory so it was paid regardless of whether the delegate care or not.

While I accept the environmental arguments in favour of UK events there are two problems that a UK event faces. All of the travel conferences are helped by support from host tourist boards. In my experience UK tourist boards are generally not very interested in helping to subsidise a meeting of travel agents and tour operators, 80% of whose business is international outbound travel. Secondly, with an event in the UK that can be reached by public transport or car, there are few incentives to book early. With an overseas event there is usually limited airlift and if you book late you might not get flights – or you might have to pay full fare. No such limit is faced with a UK event. People then choose to book later, and as one of the motivations to book is that your competitors have booked, if everyone waits for everyone else to book, the event can fail. If it chooses a UK venue ABTA will need to come up with some clever ideas to motivate early booking.

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]]> By: Darren Cronian http://www.travel-rants.com/2008/07/29/abta-convention-will-cost-3k-in-carbon-offsetting/#comment-113657 Darren Cronian Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:55:41 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=1231#comment-113657 @ Nathan China?! I'm on my way... @ Nathan

China?! I’m on my way…

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]]> By: Nathan Midgley http://www.travel-rants.com/2008/07/29/abta-convention-will-cost-3k-in-carbon-offsetting/#comment-113656 Nathan Midgley Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:32:52 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=1231#comment-113656 We're getting some hints at what the 2009 location will be - they've tipped Macau, Tel Aviv, and (drum roll) Liverpool. We've got a poll on them on the homepage of Travel Weekly at the moment, Darren - come have your say :) We’re getting some hints at what the 2009 location will be – they’ve tipped Macau, Tel Aviv, and (drum roll) Liverpool. We’ve got a poll on them on the homepage of Travel Weekly at the moment, Darren – come have your say :)

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]]> By: Darren Cronian http://www.travel-rants.com/2008/07/29/abta-convention-will-cost-3k-in-carbon-offsetting/#comment-113038 Darren Cronian Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:36:53 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=1231#comment-113038 @ Colin Fair points but a conference does not have to be held in London. Somewhere in the Midland's would suit most people I'd suspect. @ Colin

Fair points but a conference does not have to be held in London. Somewhere in the Midland’s would suit most people I’d suspect.

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]]> By: Colin Webster http://www.travel-rants.com/2008/07/29/abta-convention-will-cost-3k-in-carbon-offsetting/#comment-113011 Colin Webster Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:54:47 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=1231#comment-113011 Hi Darren, Congratulations on a great, well designed blog. I'm sure that the enviornment will feature heavily on the agenda at this years conference. Here are my thoughts on your post. 1) Most ABTA members are focused on overseas holidays so it makes more sense for them to have their conference overseas. The ABTA conference is the last one to be critical of, why should lets say a UK based accountancy firm have their conference in Mallorca ? 2) Public transport is so patchy in the UK many delegates would have to drive anyway. Plus, e.g. if the conference was in London delegates from Scotland may fly. Having a conference in the canaries mean delegates can fly from their local airport. 3) Travel agents need to sample the products they are selling, so again it makes sense for the conference to be overseas, so the delegates can experience the flights and hotels and give accurate and worthwhile information to customers. Many delegates will take the opportunity to visit various hotels while at the conference to get an accurate view of them. ABTA should consider holding a UK conference, in line with the proportion of UK breaks their members sell, so that maybe once every 10 years or so and would probably be held at Butlins. Hi Darren,

Congratulations on a great, well designed blog.
I’m sure that the enviornment will feature heavily on the agenda at this years conference.
Here are my thoughts on your post.

1) Most ABTA members are focused on overseas holidays so it makes more sense for them to have their conference overseas. The ABTA conference is the last one to be critical of, why should lets say a UK based accountancy firm have their conference in Mallorca ?

2) Public transport is so patchy in the UK many delegates would have to drive anyway. Plus, e.g. if the conference was in London delegates from Scotland may fly. Having a conference in the canaries mean delegates can fly from their local airport.

3) Travel agents need to sample the products they are selling, so again it makes sense for the conference to be overseas, so the delegates can experience the flights and hotels and give accurate and worthwhile information to customers. Many delegates will take the opportunity to visit various hotels while at the conference to get an accurate view of them.

ABTA should consider holding a UK conference, in line with the proportion of UK breaks their members sell, so that maybe once every 10 years or so and would probably be held at Butlins.

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