The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), a powerful force in the U.S. travel industry, was active north of the border too with a Canadian chapter – but not for long when this story ran.
The headline for this edition of ‘It Happened This Week’ is: Future of ASTA-Canada in doubt
At this point Travelweek was still known as CTM Weekly Bulletin – it was early days, after all. As the article notes: “At press time, CTM learned that national executives from all ASTA-Canada chapters will be meeting in Toronto … to decide the fate of the Society in this country.”
The article goes on to say: “The ASTA-Canada people want their own affiliation, because they feel Canadian agents have their own specific needs … Many agents feel ASTA-Canada won’t be around at all next year. They would like to see some sort of Canadian association of travel agents right across the country … A number of agents have grown weary of ASTA and are ready to opt in favour of forming a new Canadian association to meet Canadian needs.”
Of course, those agents were right, and a new Canadian association did take shape: ACTA. First known as the Alliance of Canadian Travel Associations, ACTA’s founders became autonomous from ASTA in 1977, as ACTA notes on its site. ACTA is now known as the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies and Travel Advisors.
Did the headline appear in Travelweek in 1975, 1981 or 1986?
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