ABTA news
CONTINGENCY
CRISIS WORK PLANS
ABTA is calling on Members to make sure they have a continuity plan in place so that business can continue even in a crisis. This follows the terrorist attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market, which led to the ABTA Head Office in London Bridge being inaccessible for a period as it was within the security cordon set up by the police following the attack. ABTA invoked its business continuity plan while investigations were conducted, which included liaising with the local authorities and the police. ABTA senior managers participated in conference calls to establish that no staff had been in the building at the time of the attacks and then agreed how to continue business with the minimum of disruption to staff, Members and their customers. “The incident was a stark reminder of the need for critical procedures understood by all involved, for out of hours communications channels with all staff, and for good IT structures accessible remotely,” said Mark Tanzer, ABTA’s chief executive. “It’s extremely difficult to predict the human impact of a crisis, so having support structures for staff to draw on is vital. When something hits so close to home, it can hit very personally. Being prepared for business disruption is crucial and it’s important that all ABTA Members have robust and tested business continuity plans in place, as you never know when you may need them.”
GDPR
Data protection changes due
ABTA is helping Members prepare for
the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires all corporations to protect the privacy of personal data of all EU citizens and is due to come into force in May 2018. ABTA’s director of legal affairs Simon Bunce commented on the implications for the managed travel sector: “We can expect all customers to demand higher levels of security and compliance following the introduction of the GDPR and any perceived weakness in this area will damage the trust that’s a significant part of a TMC’s relationship with its corporate clients.” ABTA has been signposting Members to the Information Commissioner’s Office’s
NEWS IN BRIEF
Going green Make Holidays Greener
has returned for 2017, led by ABTA in partnership with Travelife. The campaign encourages holidaymakers and the travel industry to make sustainable holiday pledges, taking care of the environment and supporting local communities.
10 ABTA Magazine | August 2017
Bakewell best Bakewell Travel has won
the Best Use of ABTA Branding award at this year’s Travel Brit Awards. The independent agency was chosen as the winner due to its well-placed ABTA logos and how it promote its Membership to make customers feel they can travel with confidence.
(ICO) 12 Steps to Take Guidance document and the last two rounds of Member regional meetings have focused on awareness of the issues, explaining what Members need to know about the data they hold. ABTA has also been preparing further guidance to assist Members in carrying out an audit of the data they hold to help identify areas which need reviewed in order to comply with GPDR. This guidance will be published on
abta.com and presented at the autumn regional meetings. “In practical terms, travel management
organisations must develop good communication across all of their data handling departments,” said Bunce.
Board changes Lady Tina Stowell, former
leader of the House of Lords, and Stuart Leven, Royal Caribbean’s VP EMEA have joined ABTA’s board of directors. Jamie Gardiner, managing director of Diverse World, joins representing Principal Members with a turnover of less than £50m.
No insurance Two in five (40%) of
millennial travellers didn’t take out insurance last year, according to new research for ABTA. “The FCO cannot pay medical bills if you’re hospitalised abroad, nor can we fly you home,” said Susan Crown from the Travel Aware team at the FCO.
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