AFTA close to naming accreditation GM
A general manager for the travel industry's new accreditation program could be named as early as Friday as the Australian Federation of Travel Agents continues to thrash out criteria for the scheme.
AFTA drew up a shorlist of three people for the role with the identity of the successful applicant soon to be announced.
The full time GM, who is likely to begin in late April and will receive an "executive salaray", will spearhead the scheme and hold discussions with the industry over the next few months.
The accreditation scheme is expected to be operational by July 2014.
"The general manager will take the draft criteria out on the road and talk in various forums," AFTA chief executive Jayson Westbury said.
News of the impending appointment of the scheme's manager came as Westbury today met with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in Canberra.
He told Travel Today that AFTA needs to "get an understanding from the ACCC of the framework in which we have to operate".
AFTA has set aside $500,000 for the "establishment and forward planning work" of the accreditation scheme while it waits for possible funds from Travel Compensation Fund (TCF) reserves.
In its submission to the Travel Industry Transition Plan last year, AFTA requested around $9 million of the TCF's approximate $30m reserves to establish the scheme and educate the public on changes to the consumer protection structure.
Westbury said there had been no indictaion of how much AFTA was likely to receive.
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