ACITA outlines new key objectives amid travel’s recovery

TORONTO — Though global travel continues to make major strides in its recovery, ACITA isn’t letting up in its efforts to ensure that independent travel advisors aren’t left behind.

Following feedback from its membership, ACITA (Association of Canadian Independent Travel Advisors) has identified inequities for ITAs (Independent Travel Advisors) at this stage of the pandemic, and has developed an action plan to ensure that they are treated as equal partners in the tourism industry.

ACITA has set the following objectives:

Continue to build relationships and communication channels with the federal government to ensure that the impact of decisions made are not negatively affecting ITAs. This includes identifying any business changes that need to be made to ensure ITAs are able to obtain funding immediately in the event of temporary closures of the industry.
Expand its supplier relationships and communicate with them the unique challenges faced by ITAs in an effort to ensure equitable relationships within the industry.
Expand the ACITA executive team to include representation from all provinces and host agencies, and to build a strong and robust network for ITAs across the country.
Provide unbiased information to its membership with regards to the terms of partnerships with its host agencies.

According to ACITA, the work that it does has changed as a result of travel reopening, however they remain largely focused on being the collective voice for all Independent Travel Advisors in Canada.

“We represent almost half of the travel advisors in Canada and are the future of the community as more advisors continue to move to an independent model,” said ACITA.

ACITA, a 100% volunteer organization, was formed in June 2020 to advocate for inclusion in government funding programs for ITAs. It has held over 30 MP, MPP and government official meetings to date.

Earlier this summer, Judith Coates, one of ACITA’s three co-founders, stepped down after two years at the helm of the organization to focus on serving her clients and growing her business.