NEWS THE INTERVIEW


ALISTAIR ROWLAND


ORowland has been an elected member of the Abta board since 2011, representing retail members with £20 million-plus turnover.


can understand.” Te collapse of Super Break,


which was brought down by the failure of parent Malvern Group at the beginning of August, “caught us all by surprise” admits Rowland. Many agents were surprised


to discover accommodation-only bookings they had made with Super Break were not protected by Abta bonding amid suggestions they were misled by Super Break brochures. Abta subsequently pointed out


accommodation-only bookings had not required protection for more than 10 years following a decision by Abta members. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer


told Travel Weekly: “Tere was not a lot of surprise from consumers, who were not leſt stranded. Te surprise was from agents. Te trouble was agents were leſt with chargebacks. But when we stopped protecting accommodation-only we told members: ‘Check your agreements’.” Rowland agrees: “Te trade had a


bigger surprise than consumers,” he says: “Te trade should understand this to be able to explain it to the


travelweekly.co.uk


consumer. I don’t want to push to change the rules but to push transparency. We can make it clear. It’s more about education and [being] transparent about single items, particularly in the UK.”


Minimum entry level His third priority is education. He says: “It’s a changing market and new entrants are changing the level of knowledge in the industry. We need to create a minimum entry level on knowledge. “Travel has not done well in this


area and Abta has a big [job] to create [such an entry level].” Te entry of US homeworking


agency InteleTravel to the UK market has caused disquiet among some agents, not least since the business was granted Abta membership in March. Rowland insists: “I’m not talking


about InteleTravel. Tere are a lot of new entrants to the market without a standard level of knowledge and Abta has a part to play in this. Twenty years ago, you could not set up as a travel business without employing an Abta-trained individual.


“I’m saying it would be good to


do it [have an entry level], but it does not mean we [Abta] do it. I speak to a lot of students and a lot of what they do [on travel and tourism courses] is old and outdated.” Rowland sees his predecessor,


Sunvil chairman Noel Josephides, as a hard act to follow. He says: “Te amount of effort Noel puts into the industry is incredible. I would love to be able to do that, to have the time, but I represent Abta as someone who is running not just a travel business but healthcare, funeral services, childcare etc. Te job is super complex. “I intend to do as much as I can.


It won’t be what Noel did, but I will support Abta as much as I can.” Rowland will address Abta’s Travel


Convention in Tokyo next month for the first time as chairman. He says: “I’m a huge fan of Abta and proud to take the chair. Te way Abta is run is admirable. I think it understates itself and I’ll try to add value where I can.”


i The Travel Convention will held on October 7-9, in Tokyo. thetravelconvention.com


OHe runs not just the largest UK travel Co-operative but the group’s nurseries, healthcare and funeral group.


ORowland joined The Midcounties Co-operative in 2011 from the Co-operative Travel Group, where he was director of distribution, following the latter’s merger with Thomas Cook.


OHe has worked in retail since the mid-1980s and spent most of the past 30 years working for various parts of the Co-operative group, bar two years with First Choice Holidays in the late 1990s.


ORowland has been a trustee of the Abta Lifeline charity since 2012 and on the board of trustees of The Travel Foundation since 2014.


OHe completed a 100km, 24-hour walk along the River Thames in September as part of the Thames Path Challenge in support of Abta LifeLine.


26 SEPTEMBER 2019 19


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