ABC Global Services and the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) today announced that ABC has achieved its booking goal and will make a $10,000 contribution toward ASTA’s advocacy efforts. In January, ABC and ASTA announced that ABC would pledge up to $10,000 based on agency usage of ABC’s Premier Hotel Program during the month of February.
Eric Altschul, CEO of ABC Global Services, said, “We want to thank all of our existing agency partners for their tremendous support, as well as all the new agencies that signed up with us, allowing us to achieve our goal. ASTA’s advocacy efforts are incredibly important to our industry and make a difference in all of our lives. We sincerely appreciate everyone’s participation.”
In recognition of the broad range of support it received, ABC will be pro-rating the credit for its contribution to each of ASTA’s 26 local chapters across the country, accounting for 25 percent of each chapter’s ASTAPAC fundraising goal.
“Advocating for travel agents and the traveling public at all levels of government and industry is a top priority for ASTA,” said ASTA President & CEO Zane Kerby. “Because of the support of companies like ABC, which recognizes the high value of our advocacy work, we are able to forge ahead with our core mission of promoting and defending the retail distribution channel.”
Examples of recent ASTA advocacy successes include fighting for travel agents’ access to real-time “transactable” airline ancillary fees through the GDSs and other channels; opposing job-killing sales tax hikes in 2013 in VA, MN and OH that would have cost agencies $170 million per year in new taxes; and helping to put a new travel insurance regulatory standard into place in 27 states, which will cut licensing costs, red tape and regulatory risk for agents.
