Tour operator forming new US-Asia association

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 ◆ Tour operator forming new US-Asia association

Charles Man, president of New York-based Asia Vacations, is rallying tour operators from the US and Asia to form a new association to boost travel links and information flow between the regions.

As the outbound market builds momentum from the region, Man is seeking to champion the birth of this body to bridge the gap between the US and China, in particular.

¡°I see a need to set up an association ¨C something on par with the USTOA,¡± he told TravelWeekly.

¡°I want to set up an US-Asia or US-China association of small- and medium-sized tour operators.

There is a real need for an association that would fall under the same by-laws as the USTOA. Once PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) moved its headquarters to Thailand, the chapters in the US have been falling apart. Membership is shrinking.

¡°Many retail agents are skeptical about PATA, because the name is not there and little information is reaching the agents,¡± he said.

¡°We are now asking a few tour operators in New York to set up a preliminary meeting as the ¡®organising committee¡¯ to explore the possibility and purposes of such an association.

¡°We could work with PATA on the outbound market from North America to Asia. The association would be restricted to tour operators who are international members of PATA. As a minimum requirement, they should have licenses such as ARC/IATA/ CLIA/ASTA or PATA,¡± he said.

Man said the proposed entity hopes to rebuild inbound traffic into North America from Asia, and boost outbound to Asia from North America.

¡°I am now approaching tour operators in Canada and the US, to see if they would be willing to join. The next step is getting Asian land tour operators,¡± he said, adding that communication was critical at this time.

¡°It would give us an opportunity to strengthen the content of major Asian travel trade shows like CITM, PATA and ATF.¡±