NEWS — HOT STORIES 4
Abta chairman issues warning but TNG praises the CAA’s new Atol financial rules
requirements that new Atol-holders have £30,000 in share capital and initial bonds of £50,000 mean “more start-ups will operate illegally”. He argues the new rules fail to address the real problem of inadequate policing and writes: “Hundreds of UK-based operators simply ignore the regulations. Hundreds of organisations based abroad market in the UK but do not comply with UK regulations.” Yet Lewis, writing for Travel Weekly’s daily Business:am email alert, accused Abta of “playing fast and loose” with its interpretation of the rules. “This goes a long way to fixing the problem of a
Ian Taylor
The CAA’s decision to toughen financial criteria for small Atol-holders has drawn criticism from Abta but praise from the Travel Network Group (TNG). Abta demanded a delay and fresh consultation, questioned whether the CAA’s financial tests would be “proportionate” and declared it “unreasonable” for firms to comply by October. But TNG managing director Gary Lewis hailed the
measures as going “a long way to fix the problem”, while confessing: “I wanted the CAA to go further.” TNG represents both Abta and non-Abta members. Writing in this week’s Travel Weekly, Abta chairman Noel Josephides warns CAA
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continual stream of poorly run businesses holding ‘fig leaf’ Atols, taking increasingly greater risks and, when they fail, costing the Air Travel Trust Fund,” he said. “We, as an industry, would achieve a lot more if
our biggest trade body and main regulator were just fixing the problems, not trying to appease all the
“Hundreds of UK-based operators simply ignore the regulations”
agendas within our fractured industry.” The CAA announced last week it would retain the Small Business Atol for genuine small businesses, suggesting 85% would be unaffected by new financial tests. ❯ Noel Josephides: Comment, page 30
Travel Weekly is Travel Convention partner Travel Weekly reporters
Travel Weekly has been named as official trade media partner of the 2015 Travel Convention. The partnership with Abta will see Travel
Weekly and its sister titles covering all the biggest news and interviews in the build-up to the industry’s flagship event, in addition to being involved on stage. Travel Weekly will also be responsible for the official trade media coverage of the event as it happens in print, online and through social media channels. The Travel Convention takes place on
October 12-14 at Costa Navarino in Greece. Costa Navarino is the prime sustainable destination in the Mediterranean, located in the Greek region of Messinia in southwest Peloponnese. Lucy Huxley, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly
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travelweekly.co.uk — 12 March 2015
Group, said: “We are delighted that Abta has chosen us to be the trade media partner for this year’s Travel Convention. “The partnership will allow us to develop our already strong relationship with Abta and comment on the important themes of this year’s event across our market-leading portfolio of print and digital products.” Mark Tanzer, Abta chief executive, added: “We are very pleased to welcome Travel Weekly as our official media partner. “We look forward to working together as we look to deliver another outstanding event that addresses the key issues facing our industry.”
Attendance will be capped at 500 and the
programme will include two days of business sessions alongside networking, social events and activities. Registration is open at
thetravelconvention.com
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Gary Lewis
“We aim to deliver
an event that addresses the key issues”
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