The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) is to join forces with the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) and the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) to introduce a carbon offsetting scheme. They hope to have the scheme in place early next year.
ABTA head of business development and consumer affairs Keith Richards highlighted the importance of carbon offsetting: ”ABTA is already a well established voice for the industry on these issues and with our very high consumer profile, we see it as key to the success of the scheme to ensure we are asking businesses and consumers to invest in relevant projects. It is not the solution, but it”s one of the recognised ways to tackle the inevitable impact of current travel patterns. It”s just one part of our longer-term strategy.”
As well as addressing green issues, the association plans to release a health and safety initiative to enable its members to access a reliable, independently audited hotel database. It intends to make sure that the accommodation offered by its members adheres to strict rules and regulations regarding health and safety.
In a statement ABTA highlights the fact that ”the traditional landscape of tour operators and travel agents is changing rapidly. When agents react to customer demands for flexible packaging they risk taking on the role of principal and packager themselves. With this changing business model comes the legal liability for the health and safety of those customers.”