Consumer messaging around ATAS will start appearing in market from the end of July as the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) seeks to grow awareness of the new accreditation scheme.
AFTA revealed the key objectives of the new campaign as to encourage consumers to book travel through an ATAS-accredited travel agent, to drive awareness of the ATAS brand and to promote the benefits of booking through an accredited travel agent.
General manager accreditation Gary O’Riordan admitted the goals are “sizeable” but was confident key public relations and marketing partnerships will ensure a positive outcome.
AFTA will continue its seven-year relationship with PR firm Republic while launching a new partnership with marketing and channel specialist Think!
“The channels and placement of our messaging is very specific to our target audience,” O’Riordan said. “We want maximum bang for our marketing dollars, and therefore have a very specific approach in order to reach consumers at the right time during their purchasing cycle.”
He invited ATAS-accredited partners to begin using the ATAS brand in their own marketing efforts, with a range of approved logos accessible in the ATAS Participant Zone on the AFTA website.
However, O’Riordan reported “overwhelmingly positive” feedback to the latest series of Becoming Travel Accredited workshops which travelled the country in May reaching more than 900 agents.
“It is evident that the industry strongly supports ATAS, believing it is the future of the industry,” he said.
“We have received over 250 ATAS applications and are delighted to announce that 61 participants have now been accredited.”
