UFTAA – SKAL INTERNATIONAL launch Joint campaign to assist passengers and travel agencies/tour operators from COVID Challenges.
“In a significant move to protect and guide Travel; Tourism and Hospitality Industry who are extensively impacted negatively due to COVID-19, representatives of two of the largest global Organizations UFTAA and SKAL INTERNATIONAL interacted over a conference all on 11th May, 2020 and deliberated on the way-forward.
This meeting was necessitated due to the background of the abrupt collapse of the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry across the globe on account of the COVID -19 pandemic. As per the analysis that has been done by UNWTO the Travel and Tourism Industry provides employment to one of every ten jobs created in the world and along with the allied Industry that is 30 classifications connected with the Trade the ratio is one is to every five jobs. This pandemic has resulted in closure of Tourism activity and caused massive unemployment resulting in negative growth of the Economy across the Globe.
This Historic deliberation of two of the largest Organizations resulted in a firm resolve to help restructure the Industry; its stake-holders and our customers. The focus was clearly to ensure that “Consumer Protection” is paramount while formulating future policies . The Organizations will impress upon the Governments and Authorities who invest large amounts of public funds to support the industry and its good health from time to time; to request a restructure of policies that not only safeguard the customers and stakeholders from being negatively impacted due to industry challenges, particularly the aviation sector, but to also draw up plans to redesign the distribution channels with trained and credible stake-holders. The channel of delivery of services be routed through the distribution system who are members of the Associations that control the Trade.
One important aspect that persuaded the two large global associations to take this stand is the manner in which millions of passengers and travel agencies, across the world are being deprived of refunds and this is diminishing the very moral fabric of transparency in the industry.
Thus, the current situation has exposed anomalies that exist in the Service Delivery system and UFTAA AND SKAL INTERNATIONAL have resolved to partner each other to ensure that the Industry and the Consumer will always be protected and that a joint petition to the governments & authorities, globally, will be well received.
United Federation of Travel and Tourism Associations (UFTAA) is represented in about 70 Countries. Many large national and area associations are members of UFTAA and each of these associations have large membership. The combined membership of all the associations of UFTAA would be well over 50,000 members. UFTAA Board led by Mr Sunil Kumar, the Global President, actively deliberated.
SKAL INTERNATIONAL was represented by their Board and International Council Members, led by their President Mr. Peter Morrison. SKAL INTERNATIONAL is representative of organizations in 350 cities and 95 Countries and having about 15,000 members belonging to 30 Classification of the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Trade
Both UFTAA & SKAL invite all passenger based national associations to join them in this campaign with the key focus to help offer an industry of transparency and safety of investment.