Comments on: Q&A with John McEwan. Discussing the future of ABTA http://www.travel-rants.com/2009/05/27/qa-with-john-mcewan/ Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:52:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Nick http://www.travel-rants.com/2009/05/27/qa-with-john-mcewan/#comment-147208 Nick Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:10:08 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=4142#comment-147208 Andy, ABTA is a trade body same as all other trade bodies, it works for it members. So yes if you have a problem with someone who is not a member then they can not help you. Same with any other trade body. As to defending there logo they will use trademark laws to stop this same as Microsoft will act against copy software. I know this is there standard reply if you have informed them. @ Murray I am sure the 50/60 year olds on the railtrack board will be happy to hear they are to young as will the chairman and directors of the various banks who are in the 50's and 60's. At the same time the only person who pointed out there was a problem with the banking system (a baby in his 40's) was not listened to. On a personal note Murray if you where running I probably vote for you. Andy,

ABTA is a trade body same as all other trade bodies, it works for it members. So yes if you have a problem with someone who is not a member then they can not help you. Same with any other trade body. As to defending there logo they will use trademark laws to stop this same as Microsoft will act against copy software. I know this is there standard reply if you have informed them.

@ Murray I am sure the 50/60 year olds on the railtrack board will be happy to hear they are to young as will the chairman and directors of the various banks who are in the 50′s and 60′s. At the same time the only person who pointed out there was a problem with the banking system (a baby in his 40′s) was not listened to.
On a personal note Murray if you where running I probably vote for you.

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]]> By: Andy http://www.travel-rants.com/2009/05/27/qa-with-john-mcewan/#comment-147069 Andy Sun, 31 May 2009 20:43:50 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=4142#comment-147069 I could write for hours on this but will keep it short and to the point. ABTA is a waste of space. Its a marketing organisation designed to encourage bookings and nothing more. Turn to ABTA and you will be disappointed. I was left in Athens by an airline after being supplied with the wrong boarding card (along with 50 others). Two years on and I am still at court fighting just to get the additional money I spent back. ABTA says it is nothing to do with them even though we informed them the company was displaying their logo illegally. They can't even be bothered to defend that. Credit cards offer more protection to the consumer and you don't pay a premium on top of your holiday for the 'benefit' of going to an agent. They complain they don't like the current confusion. Complete tosh. If the public knew the facts ABTA would be a distant memory. How can you possibly encompass all in one consumer championed protectionist policy when companies from outside the UK can trade online completely unregulated? This makes ABTA an unnecessary additional burden for SME's starting in the UK travel industry. They provide support to a ring fenced, high barrier industry designed to keep the tour operators in an oligopoly and everyone else feeding off the scraps. The sooner they are ousted by a 'everyone pays a levy system' the better. I bet they lobby against any increase because they know the more protection this fee provides the less relevent they become. Why is the travel industry so special anyway? Rant over. I could write for hours on this but will keep it short and to the point.
ABTA is a waste of space. Its a marketing organisation designed to encourage bookings and nothing more.
Turn to ABTA and you will be disappointed. I was left in Athens by an airline after being supplied with the wrong boarding card (along with 50 others). Two years on and I am still at court fighting just to get the additional money I spent back. ABTA says it is nothing to do with them even though we informed them the company was displaying their logo illegally. They can’t even be bothered to defend that.
Credit cards offer more protection to the consumer and you don’t pay a premium on top of your holiday for the ‘benefit’ of going to an agent.
They complain they don’t like the current confusion. Complete tosh. If the public knew the facts ABTA would be a distant memory. How can you possibly encompass all in one consumer championed protectionist policy when companies from outside the UK can trade online completely unregulated? This makes ABTA an unnecessary additional burden for SME’s starting in the UK travel industry.
They provide support to a ring fenced, high barrier industry designed to keep the tour operators in an oligopoly and everyone else feeding off the scraps. The sooner they are ousted by a ‘everyone pays a levy system’ the better. I bet they lobby against any increase because they know the more protection this fee provides the less relevent they become. Why is the travel industry so special anyway?
Rant over.

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]]> By: Murray Harrold http://www.travel-rants.com/2009/05/27/qa-with-john-mcewan/#comment-147011 Murray Harrold Sat, 30 May 2009 13:55:22 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=4142#comment-147011 It's this "stature" thing. The ability for an ABTA president to be a statesman for the travel trade, irrespective of incoming, outgoing tourism. Someone who represents the travel industry as a whole, through all its facets and through all its nooks and crannies. Given the hard road that needs to be followed, this is not a time for some wet behind the ears dynamic young type with flair, it is time for someone who has the widest and most in depth knowledge of as many aspects of travel as possible - so yes, a spell "on the counter", at the sharp end of travel would be a vital element. That person should be able to see the widest picture of our industry. There were many, in the past, who had this ability. We have seen what bright young people achieve. We have had enough examples of that. Take the banking fiasco - where were the people of stature with the experience and wisdom to forsee these events? Take our Railways, where the first job after privatisation was to replace anyone who knew how to run a railway. Look at the track record of the present CEO of British Airways - all mergers failed and the biggest loss in BA's corporate history. And, of course, look at what has happened to customer protection in travel. The last thing we want is someone who will come along and decided the best thing would be to, er... change the logo. I do accept that there are many BYP who have achieved success, but they are relatively few and far between. For each of those that have been successful, there are two or three who haven't. My vote has always been with that person who, at the end of the day, still knows how part A bolts on to part B. Not in theory, in practice. Froth and gloss is not an option. It’s this “stature” thing. The ability for an ABTA president to be a statesman for the travel trade, irrespective of incoming, outgoing tourism. Someone who represents the travel industry as a whole, through all its facets and through all its nooks and crannies. Given the hard road that needs to be followed, this is not a time for some wet behind the ears dynamic young type with flair, it is time for someone who has the widest and most in depth knowledge of as many aspects of travel as possible – so yes, a spell “on the counter”, at the sharp end of travel would be a vital element. That person should be able to see the widest picture of our industry. There were many, in the past, who had this ability.

We have seen what bright young people achieve. We have had enough examples of that. Take the banking fiasco – where were the people of stature with the experience and wisdom to forsee these events? Take our Railways, where the first job after privatisation was to replace anyone who knew how to run a railway. Look at the track record of the present CEO of British Airways – all mergers failed and the biggest loss in BA’s corporate history. And, of course, look at what has happened to customer protection in travel.

The last thing we want is someone who will come along and decided the best thing would be to, er… change the logo. I do accept that there are many BYP who have achieved success, but they are relatively few and far between. For each of those that have been successful, there are two or three who haven’t. My vote has always been with that person who, at the end of the day, still knows how part A bolts on to part B. Not in theory, in practice. Froth and gloss is not an option.

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]]> By: Nick http://www.travel-rants.com/2009/05/27/qa-with-john-mcewan/#comment-146996 Nick Sat, 30 May 2009 08:56:38 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=4142#comment-146996 @ Murray.. hear hear Insurance is not the way forward, they would run when the claims came in, we seen this time and time again.... As Darren has shown a government body is like all government departments..slow and cumbersome, even if they try and do there best we what they are given. (No blame to the CAA here as I think the staff there have hands tied and if could they would do more and be better at it). ABTA has to be more political and open in the way things are done. This is the first time that I am aware that an internal ABTA election has become so public. to quote TW "what next? Live TV debates? Trips to the Town centers and kissing of babies?" But worse of all both incoming and outgoing tourism is almost so unimportant to the government that we might as well be on another planet, this is the challenge for ABTA not just the chairman to change. We both candidates promising the same thing to lobby the next question is which candidate will do better, and that will depend on the member.. if you wish someone who has risen to the top and now sits in an office, with it's (as we have seen) resources to call on, or someone that still runs a travel agent and tour operator from the front. @ Murray.. hear hear

Insurance is not the way forward, they would run when the claims came in, we seen this time and time again…. As Darren has shown a government body is like all government departments..slow and cumbersome, even if they try and do there best we what they are given. (No blame to the CAA here as I think the staff there have hands tied and if could they would do more and be better at it).

ABTA has to be more political and open in the way things are done. This is the first time that I am aware that an internal ABTA election has become so public. to quote TW “what next? Live TV debates? Trips to the Town centers and kissing of babies?”

But worse of all both incoming and outgoing tourism is almost so unimportant to the government that we might as well be on another planet, this is the challenge for ABTA not just the chairman to change.

We both candidates promising the same thing to lobby the next question is which candidate will do better, and that will depend on the member.. if you wish someone who has risen to the top and now sits in an office, with it’s (as we have seen) resources to call on, or someone that still runs a travel agent and tour operator from the front.

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]]> By: Darren Cronian http://www.travel-rants.com/2009/05/27/qa-with-john-mcewan/#comment-146969 Darren Cronian Fri, 29 May 2009 17:07:43 +0000 http://www.travel-rants.com/?p=4142#comment-146969 @ Murray Happy for you to post the link to your comments on the blog, its on-topic, so that's fine! :) @ Murray

Happy for you to post the link to your comments on the blog, its on-topic, so that’s fine! :)

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