History of ABTA
2000s
2000 The Travel Agents’ Council and Tour Operators’ Council are replaced by a single Board of Directors, and a single class of membership is reintroduced. The first issue of the Member e-newsletter, ABTA Today, goes out to Members.
2003 ABTA becomes a founder member of The Travel Foundation.
2007 ABTA changes its name from Association of British Travel Agents to ABTA, and introduces a new logo. The Board is reviewed and reduced to include a
2010s
2010 The ABTA Benevolent Fund rebrands as ABTA LifeLine. The Board is reviewed, and the first non-executive directors are appointed.
2012 ABTA brings in a joint administration scheme with the CAA to help Members with a turnover of up to £1.5m satisfy ATOL requirements following the introduction of Flight-Plus requirements for agents. ABTA and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office join forces on a balcony safety campaign following a spate of fatalities and serious injuries involving British holidaymakers falling from balconies. The Fair Tax on Flying campaign, of which ABTA is a leading and founder member, succeeds in getting more than 200,000 members of the public to email their MPs calling for a review of the impact of Air Passenger Duty.
2013 ABTA launches health and safety guidelines, which provide guidance for Members at a level appropriate to the type of service they are providing. Later in the year, wide-ranging and detailed animal welfare guidelines are produced in partnership with the Born Free Foundation. ABTA seeks its Members’ views on further reform of the ATOL scheme through a questionnaire, webinar and regional meetings.
supply and demand, and suggests a possible solution by staggering the dates of school holidays, as well as lobbying in Westminster. Following this work, there’s a debate in the House of Commons over whether prices should be capped in school holidays; there's a general consensus that this is not economically viable and ABTA’s policy position is recognised.
Kos, Greece
2014 ABTA launches comprehensively updated and revised advice and guidance on how to serve the needs and requirements of people with disabilities. This covers Members’ legal obligations and is intended to enable them to help grow their businesses by properly serving this important sector of the travelling public. Following the Government’s decision to ban all absence from school in term time, apart from exceptional circumstances, the media and public spotlight shifts on to the issue of price rises in term time. ABTA takes the lead in explaining the issues of
2015 The appalling terrorism attack on UK holidaymakers in Tunisia is front page news and ABTA is at the forefront in providing information, conducting 215 TV and radio interviews fed into by regular updates from ABTA Members. The Association explains the work being done by ABTA Members to safeguard customers in resort, and the repatriation process which sees 15,000 people being flown home early. The unfolding migrant crisis around the eastern Mediterranean sees ABTA take a leading role in reassuring the public about its true impact on holidaymakers, particularly in relation to the Greek islands of Kos and Lesbos. The EU agrees to exclude Business Travel from the terms of the Package Travel Directive following extensive lobbying work from ABTA. Later in the year, the European Parliament signs off the directive, including a provision to include 'click through' bookings under the terms of new regulations.
President, four elected Members, the ABTA CEO and three appointed Directors.
2008 ABTA and the Office of Fair Trading work together to eliminate misleading price advertising across the industry, and ABTA redoubles its efforts to bring about reform of financial protection for consumers. ABTA and the FTO amalgamate.
2009 After nearly 40 years in Newman Street, London W1, ABTA moves to new premises near London Bridge. The Board President is renamed as Chairman, and directly elected by all Members.
The Thames and London Eye
countrybycountry.com
ABTA CountryByCountry Guide 2016 9
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