An Update on ACTA Pillars

Update on Pillars: Advocate, Educate and Elevate, Promote and Connect

This update will summarize for ACTA members activities of your association in Q2 to Q3 2016.  

Under Advocate: 
Insurance: The Insurance portfolio falls under a couple of pillars: Advocate and Educate. Under the Advocate pillar ACTA sent a reminder of the requirements under the Alberta Insurance Act, notice of the license expiry date of June 30, 2016 and the responsibility to renew with up-to-date information. The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) recently released an issues paper on Travel Health Insurance which led to ACTA and THiA attending a stakeholders meeting with the CCIR to discuss the details within the Issues Paper. This paper will also be on the agenda when the Alberta Insurance Committee (three members of the ACTA Alberta Council) and Heather Craig-Peddie meet with the AIC on September 14. 

Media:

  • Following a story published in main stream media about penalties for the submission of passenger information 72 hours prior to departure and specifically the challenges to last minute bookings through a travel agency, ACTA received clarification from our contacts at the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). ACTA shared the news with members that this rule applies only to airlines and their responsibility to notify CBSA within 8 hours of departure or at the moment of departure.
  • ACTA Board Chair, Mary Jane Hiebert, gave an interview to the Globe and Mail on the possibility of the European Commission placing reciprocal visa requirements for Romanians and Bulgarians with similar rules to Canada’s. 
  • Heather Craig-Peddie gave an interview to CTV news in Timmins on the Zika Virus and possible change in bookings to destinations with confirmed cases.

IATA and WTAAA

  • APJC meeting in May. The next meeting will be held in late fall with the Financial Advisory Group (FAG) starting up in the meantime. Canada’s local financial criteria is being reviewed and we want to make sure that we are involved in this important process.
  • IATA’s APGJC meeting was held in June and ACTA was present along with fellow members of the WTAAA. This meeting was a game-changer to previous APGJC meetings. IATA and the airline members of the group listened to the agency community and stopped some resolutions from being forwarded to PAConf.  Further to this, in the July 21 issue of ACTAVision, ACTA posted an article about IATA’s NewGen ISS and the concerns about credit capping. Through our involvement in the World Travel Agents’ Association Alliance (WTAAA), a summary paper to IATA was shared clarifying the agent’s delegation that the proposed Remittance Holding Capacity (RHC) would act as a sales capping for agents and airlines, as sales would only be possible if they are paid upfront by the agent through EasyPay or if the agent obtains additional bonding. It was agreed that additional work needs to be done to address these concerns and we will continue to keep you posted on the progress.

Government/Regulators 

  • ACTA presented to the Consumer Protection BC Board of Directors about the industry. This was a great opportunity to educate the Board on who they are regulating. Heather Craig-Peddie reported that the Consumer Protection BC Board of Directors is relatively new as is the Stakeholder Relations position. We will continue to work closely with the BC regulator to establish a better working relationship and ensure that the voice of the travel industry is represented.
  • ACTA was nominated for a position on the OPC Advisory Committee of travel agents in Quebec.
  • ACTA sent a response to the ON government with respect to the proposed amendments to the regulations (deadline was April 18th to resubmit). Since then, the ON government opened up the Travel Industry Act (TIA) to a full review. This has been identified as a high priority project and plans are underway to ensure that ACTA is involved in such an important undertaking.

Under Educate and Elevate: 

  • A new Certification and Exam Coordinator, Monica Perez Garcia, was hired to fill the position left vacant at the end of January. 

Conferences and Seminars:

  • TravelMarketPlace – ACTA is very involved in this two-day conference being held downtown Toronto on May 2-3. Christine gave a presentation as a main speaker in addition to holding exam sittings.
  • Fraud Seminars – March 30 in Montreal, April 13 and 14 in Calgary and Edmonton and May 18 in Ontario, featured speakers from ARC, the RCMP, IATA and TICO. Members were advised on the latest information, trends and tools in order to stay ahead of the fraudsters. 
  • Also on the topic of Fraud, ACTA in partnership with IATA, jointly hosted the first meeting of the Canada Travel Fraud Prevention (CTFP) Group. The purpose of the CTFP is to gather leaders in the various travel industry sectors to unite against fraud affecting the Canadian travel market. The group has marked objectives and next steps following the meeting, specifically measuring the fraud impact and loss in the CTFP member companies and identifying real fraud vs fraudulent claims or “friendly fraud”. Based on measurements, benefits and extents of a Fraud management process will be established.
  • Educator’s Conference was held June 2-3 at Humber College. Educators from across the country got together for networking and brainstorming, addressing the need to increase interest in the travel industry as a career option and discussing course curriculum to ensure that graduates are immediately employable.   

The ACTA Learning Campus

  • The CTC and CTM prep courses were added to the Campus. 
  • The Air Canada Global Sales University was enhanced with more content.
  • Specialist courses are also seeing an increase in participants.

Special Projects:

  • As previously mentioned, Insurance also falls under the Educate pillar. In this regard, ACTA has been involved in the production of a comprehensive travel insurance study guide. The guide will provide the knowledge that one will need to write a voluntary exam to earn the accreditation: Travel Insurance Professional (TIP). The voluntary exam and accreditation is a first step towards a harmonization process for education, testing and licensing on a national level.  The goal is to have as many professionals successfully complete the exam while lobbying the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) to recognize the accreditation as the national standard for selling travel health insurance.

Under Promote: 

Media: (Important to note that, always in interviews, ACTA points out the value of booking through a member agency, especially considering the challenges of having to cancel or make alternate arrangements. “Without an Agent, You’re on Your Own”. However, in a very short interview where few sound bites are used, this is not always included.)

  • ACTA Board Chair, Mary Jane Hiebert, gave an interview to CBC regarding the status of bookings following the attacks in Brussels and Paris. 

B2B:

  • ACTA promoted the services of numerous suppliers to retail members, providing the members with possible new opportunities for destinations or services. 

B2C:

  • In Ottawa, ACTA participated in a large consumer show April 9-10. Board and ON Council member, Norm Payne, assisted ON Regional Manager Fiona Bowen. 
  • On Thursday June 23rd ACTA participated along with Maritime Travel in the Queen’s University Supplier Showcase. The event was a great opportunity to promote the value of booking through a professional travel agent and all the reasons “why” consumers should use a travel agent when planning their travel itineraries. 

Promotion of ACTA:

  • Industry “promotions” were the highlight during Travel Agent Day. 
  • ACTA was promoted to the industry during the TravelMarketPlace conference which took place during Travel Agent Day/Week, May 2 and 3, 2016.  

Under Connect: 

Member Events: In Q2/Q3, ACTA hosted a number of events, providing members the opportunity to network with industry colleagues. 

  • The ACTA / Air Canada Awards were presented on May 2, 2016 during the TravelMarketPlace conference. This ceremony showcases the accomplishments and dedication of ACTA members who have proven their excellence across a broad range of categories.
  • The ACTA AGM was held on May 3, 2016 and a new Board of Directors was elected.
  • On June 7 ACTA members from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick gathered at the Alt Hotel Halifax Airport to enjoy a tour of the hotel property, a generous lunch courtesy of the Alt Hotel Halifax and take in an exclusive "back lot" tour of the airport. 
  • The ACTA/Tourisme Plus Golf Tournament was held on June 8. 
  • A successful Fun & Games day in Saskatchewan on June 21. Over 50 industry personalities participated in the 12/18 hole golf day, followed by a beer and wine tasting reception and then a “mystery” or progressive dinner. 
  • The sold-out Ontario Golf Tournament was held July 7. 
  • The Manitoba Golf Tournament was held July 19. Despite the change in the traditional June date, 70 golfers enjoyed the day. 

Benefits: ACTA offers a number of benefits and services to assist members in being more effective. In Q2-Q3 ACTA:

  • Completed and circulated the service fee survey to those that participated. 
  • The Membership Card program continues to grow with respect to supplier offerings of exclusive benefits to Members.
  • ACTA members were extended special rates (half-price) on Conference Board of Canada webinars: “The Global Tourism Industry: Growing Through Shocks” and “Summer Plans: Results of the 2016 Canada Summer Travel Intentions Survey”.

Looking Forward (Q3 into Q4):

ADVOCATE:

  • ACTA participation at the OPC Advisory Committee Meeting at the end of August.
  • Insurance - Assessment of feedback on the CCIR issues paper (deadline is September 30th).
  • Progress on the ON TIA Review
  • IATA meetings to discuss Local Financial Criteria.

EDUCATE:

  • ACTA’s participation in the Baxter Student Ambassador Program
  • Student Conference in November 2016 
  • French educational content in the Campus/ACTA website

PROMOTE:

  • Participation in consumer shows where possible
  • Continuance of availability to trade and main stream media

CONNECT:

  • Regional events.
  • Continued growth of suppliers for the card program.
  • Airport tours of YYZ for ACTA members.