ASTA members have voted in favour of broadening the membership base, in a move that its president says better reflects the current state of the industry.
The decision means agents such as those based at home, and cruise-only agents will be able to join.
ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents) president Richard Copland told TravelMole: “We have broadened the membership to reflect changes in the industry, and that is moving on from the bricks and mortar locations to independent locations where sales of airline tickets has become secondary.”
In early 2002 ASTA members voted to broaden membership, which prompted 2,000 more members to join. Mr Copland told TravelMole that the latest referendum opens the membership criteria further and should encourage more travel professionals to join.
He said ASTA’s main aims were three-fold – to increase consumer awareness of the value of buying travel through an agent, to represent the interests of agents to the government, and to protect agents from companies like Rennaisance, which attempted to recall agent commissions for cruises that did not sale after the company went bankrupt.
Read our previous stories:
29-July-2003 Renaissance in court over commissions
23-June-2003 ASTA to battle Renaissance over agency commission
02-Oct-2002 ASTA slams American’s EveryFare
