This week I joined the members of the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers (Atas) for a strategy meeting in central London.
With 28 supplier members and more than 20 associates, it’s amazing to see how Atas has grown since Travel Weekly brought together a dozen of the sector’s leading lights to launch the association two years ago this month. And it was great to hear how trade-only brand Travel 2 has boosted its touring sales since joining as an associate member just last month.
With details of an expanded Atas Conference unveiled this week and a host of agents engaging with the sector, it’s a great success story and one we at Travel Weekly are immensely proud to be a central part of.
Identifying and supporting growth opportunities for our agent readers is, of course, one of our key remits, whether reporting on new routes to market, exploring up‑and‑coming destinations and products, or working closely with our partners including Clia and Abta.
We are constantly listening and talking to our readers, and as we celebrate our 50th anniversary we’ve got plenty more initiatives to come this year to ensure we continue to be your number one.
One of the exciting 50th anniversary announcements we made earlier this year was the launch of the new-look Agent Achievement Awards, the biggest and best agent awards in the UK and Ireland and now boosted with new categories and great plans for the night itself. The deadline for entries and those all-important supplier votes is just a week away on April 11, so please make sure you have your say to make sure Travel Weekly can continue to do what we do best – inform, support and celebrate our incredible industry.
Enter and vote at agentachievementawards.co.uk
Comment from Travel Weekly, April 4 edition