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ARTA Canada Supports
Take Travel Forward Initiative
Consumers, Policy Makers, and the Travel Industry
Need A Better Understanding of Travel Distribution Cost and Effect
Toronto, 16 November 2011: Canada's Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA Canada) announced today that it will lend its support to Take Travel Forward (TTF), an advocacy group of organizations and individuals who seek to raise awareness in the travel industry, for consumers, and for policy makers to clearly understand the stakes in enhancing, improving, and making travel distribution more efficient, cost-effective, and accessible.
With a focus on air transportation and related merchandizing and services, TTF (www.taketravelforward.com) aims to highlight the consumer benefits and industry cost-effectiveness of keeping travel distribution robust in a multichannel environment, but not when the costs of participation in any one channel of distribution far exceed the costs of any other channel.
"We've come a long way in improving the relationship between air carriers and travel agents, particularly when the parties sit down and speak directly with each other. Intermediaries can often frustrate the gains made in these open dialogues, and any excessive costs added by middlemen on either the agent or airline side make progress difficult. With TTF, ARTA Canada wants to make it clear to all stakeholders that improving distribution technology and reducing related costs are not mutually exclusive. We need to let go of the past, accept the realities of the present, and look forward to the future. TTF is a step in the right direction, and we are pleased to be an advocate for this important endeavor", said ARTA Canada President and CEO Bruce Bishins, CTC.
To understand more about the Take Travel Forward initiative, please view this short, 3 minute video:
In addition to its support for TTF, ARTA Canada is an allied member of the Open AXIS Group, an organization which promotes XML standards as the optimal electronic messaging structure for airline system connectivity, including direct connections.
About ARTA Canada
ARTA Canada is the largest non-profit federally incorporated professional association of travel retailers in Canada, the members of which consist exclusively of travel agencies and travel agents. In addition to advocating fair and equitable treatment of travel consumers, ARTA Canada represents the commercial and strategic interests of its member travel agencies and travel agents in a variety of national and provincial domains including regulatory and legislative matters, automation, technology, sales and marketing, and distribution.
ARTA Canada is the strategic partner in Canada of the U.S.-based Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA). For complete details about ARTA Canada's new $99 membership campaign or to join ARTA Canada, including secure payment on our web site, please visit www.artacanada.ca/join. |
