Travelwise - the ITAA Blog

22 February 2010:

13 ITAA travel professionals working with member firms from across Ireland graduated with the DIT accredited “Travel Professionals Higher Certificate” at a ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin on Saturday last.

This is a landmark in terms of Continuing Professional Development for staff in our sector, being the first cohort of students to complete independently accredited training.  We wish them continued success for the future professional and academic careers.

The ITAA was sad to hear of the closure of the Tour Operating Company Budget Travel yesterday.

ITAA CEO Simon Nugent said “While Budget was not a member of the Association, our thoughts are with our many friends and colleagues who worked in the company and who have now lost their jobs.

“Contrary to some media reports, we do not expect any holidaymakers to be “stranded” abroad.  Budget was a licensed and bonded travel company and we expect that the Government Regulator will make arrangements to bring customers home on schedule without any fuss.

“Similarly, we would expect the regulator, the Commission for Aviation Regulation, to be able to predict within a couple of days how quickly customers who have booked holidays in the coming months could expect to have their refund claims processed.

Commenting on the overall trend in the trade, Mr Nugent said that Budget Travel’s business model which involved the company chartering airplanes and contracting with hotels many months in advance, left the company particularly vulnerable to the recent recession.  He pointed out that Travel Agents have a completely different business model which gives them much more fexibility to respond to shifting consumer requirements.

“We would invite any consumer who has a forward booking with Budget to come and talk to an ITAA Travel Agent who will help them book an alternative trip and advise them on how to apply for a refund for the Budget booking.

Wednesday, 10th June - The ITAA’s advertising campaign featuring Kathryn Thomas is going live nationwide today. Look out for the ITAA logo when you book your holiday.

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Dublin Thursday 30 April 2009. The Association is working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs, our member companies and our industry partners to respond to the rapidly changing situation in Mexico.

We note that the Department of Foreign Affairs has today, 30 April, recommended against non-essential travel to Mexico. In the circumstances ITAA members are liaising with airlines, tour operators and other suppliers to ensure that those who had made plans to travel to Mexico in the near future are provided with alternative solutions such as alternative dates or destinations.

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Given the pace of change, the Association is providing advice to its members on an ongoing basis so that they can brief their customers.

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Consumers who have bought travel to Mexico in the near future may also wish to check the terms and conditions of their travel insurance as there may be an entitlement to refund.

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The Irish Governments advice on this issue can be found here (travel) and here (health).

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For information from the Mexican government click here.

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Those planing visits to Thailand in the near future are understandably concerned about the political situation which remains somewhat volatile and uncertain.  However, there is little evidence of holiday makers’ arrangements being disrupted by the protests that have occured in the last few days.  For example there has been no disruption to flights at Bangkok airport,  escorted tours have not needed to be rescheduled and resort holiday makers have not been affected.

The ITAA and members will be monitoring the situation and will work with airlines and the Department of Foreign Affairs if the situation deteriorates and clients’ plans need to be revised.

We welcome the fact the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has announced it is deferring all strikes planned for next Monday.  We understand that this means there should be no disruption at Irish airports on monday 30 March 2009.

SIPTU and Mandate plans to close Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports on Monday are hard to believe on two counts.  Firstly it’s hard to believe that closing airports is seen as a smart move when an open economy depending on foreign trade is facing a very severe recession.  Secondly it’s hard to believe that Monday’s day of action will really go ahead when Congress leaders look at their options.

If the strike is not called off on Wednesday, we will engage with DAA and advise what we expect will be the practical impact.   If disruption does go ahead we may see carriers - especially “low cost” carriers -  cancel the entire days’ programme as occurred during the Dublin ATC outages last year.

For further information click here.

Good news. The cost of texting from abroad is to be slashed from July 2009 as the EU moves to impose a new price cap on texting. The move could save Irish holidaymakers millions in mobile costs.  The EU has already forced mobile phone companies to reduce their rates for calls made abroad but the new proposals will not only see text rates reduced but also costs for downloading data.

Buyer beware - reminder that these changes have no impact in the cost of texting if you are outside the EU.

For further information please click here.

Not many areas visited by tourists are affected but if you are concerned click here to see up to date information from the Australian tourist authorities.

Many Dublin and London flights have been affected by today’s weather.

If you need information about the risk of disruption to your flights you can check with your ITAA member who will be able to assit with rerouting and rebooking if neccessary.

To checkon delays on departures and arrivals at Dublin Airport click here.