ATIA is urging travellers to check that their tour operator is properly accredited after AVG Travels has cancelled a number of trips at short notice.
Hundreds of travellers have reportedly been affected after the Melbourne-based tour operator emailed its impacted customers stating that their trips are “under review” due to “operational scheduling adjustments”.
The majority of the trips were to China, the ABC has reported.
Angry customers took to Facebook to voice their feelings, one wrote: “Taking money 6-12 months in advance, cancelled trips last minute and breached confidentiality with minimal resolution. SHAME on AVG Travels”.
Another said she had tried to cancel her upcoming trip but was unable to: “I tried to cancel my upcoming China tour today but can’t. I’m told it’s not affected and will be going ahead. I just don’t feel confident.”
A third customer said that, whilst the communication hadn’t been good, their trip to Vietnam had been a success – “We never got our flight itinerary until about a week before. Bit of a worry but tour went ahead and had an amazing time with the best bunch of 43 people you could hope to holiday with.”
In response to the situation, ATIA has revealed that it had cancelled AVG Travels’ accreditation as far back as August 2022 after the company failed to meet the financial and ethical standards required.
It continued to operate without ATIA accreditation.
According to the ABC, CATO revoked AVG Travels’ membership following the cancellations.
“On becoming aware of complaints against AVG Travels this week, we moved quickly to review their accreditation status. That review has resulted in the immediate suspension of AVG Travels’ CATO accreditation,” the CATO general manager is quoted as saying.
Accreditation is set to be a key focus of the proposed merger between CATO and ATIA, with ATIA stating it will combine the strengths of both bodies.
Around 22 per cent of applicants to ATIA’s accreditation scheme get rejected, which CEO Dean Long says showcases the body’s high standards.
“ATIA Accreditation is the highest benchmark in the travel industry. It comes with an excellent consumer complaint processing process, which means even if something goes wrong, you have an independent umpire to help you settle any disputes.”
Long continued: “One of the reasons why we have been working so hard on the detail of the proposed merger with CATO is to bring the best of both accreditation schemes together. This situation underscores exactly why that work matters.”
Agencies and tour operators who have had their accreditation cancelled or rejected are put on ATIA’s website. So far two companies have been listed for 2026: Exoticca and Liberty Tours.
