EUROPEAN TRAVEL AGENTS’ AND TOUR OPERATORS’ ASSOCIATIONS ((ECTAA)

Mission

ECTAA is the voice of European travel agents and tour operators. It aims to:

• Monitor all legislative proposals, non-legislative measures and activities, which have a direct bearing on travel agents’ and tour operators' businesses;
• Inform its Members on all developments in European affairs through regular mailings and the organization of meetings;
• Consult its Members with a view to adopting common positions of the trade on legislative proposals, planned initiatives and consultation procedures of European and international organizations;
• Represent the interests of the trade vis-à-vis the European decision-making institutions and international organizations;
• Advise Members on European & industry affairs

Activities

ECTAA cooperates closely with each of the European Institutions and monitors every development at European level, which may have an impact on tourism. It acts in particular in the following fields, where the European Union was given some responsibilities:

• Consumer protection;
• Air transport;
• Maritime, road and rail transport;
• Internal Market - notably the free provision of services and recognition of qualifications;
• Tourism, in particular sustainable tourism;
• Taxation;
• Enterprise policy;
• Competition;
• Policy on Justice, Freedom and Security.

ECTAA also represents the interests of Travel Agents and Tour Operators when dealing with other organizations that have an impact on this industry in Europe, such as:

• The European and International standardisation bodies (CEN, ISO);
• The International Air Transport Association (IATA);
• The World Tourism Organisation (WTO)

Finally, ECTAA acts as a point of contact for governments in destinations when dealing with tour operator related issues and coordinates the exchange of information among Members in key areas of operational delivery (crisis handling, health and safety, sustainable tourism).

Policy Areas

• Transport: Transport is one of the main elements of travel agents’ and tour operators’ activities. ECTAA monitors and takes action on the numerous legislations on transport and on the rules of the distribution system.
• Consumer: The European legislation on consumer protection is of particular interest for the Members of ECTAA, since in the course of their business, they conclude contracts with consumers on a daily basis. In this respect, Directive 90/314 on package travel, package holidays and package tours if the main legislation for the Members of ECTAA.
• Tourism: While the European Union does not have direct competency for a European tourism policy, many legislations, measures and activities directly impact on the trade and the travelling public.
• Taxation: ECTAA closely monitors all developments in respect of the VAT legislation and any other fiscal matters directly affecting their business.
• Internal Market: The Internal Market offers numerous opportunities for the Members of ECTAA; who can take advantage of the freedom of establishment and of the freedom to provide services for in the EC Treaty. Therefore, ECTAA closely monitors the development of European legislation in this area.
• Destinations: ECTAA aims to create the best possible conditions to ensure that destinations worldwide are able to thrive whilst also being sustainable. It also aims to minimise the barriers which prevent the free movement of people (through taxes, visa, charges, etc.) as they have an indirect impact on sustainable development, the promotion of goods and best practice planning.

Full Members

1. Deutscher Reiseverband (DRV), Germany
2. Österreichisher Reisebüroverband/Association of Austrian Travel Agents (ÖRV), Austria
3. Fachverband der Reisebüros (WKO), Austria
4. Fédération de l’Industrie du Tourisme/Federatie van de Toeristische Industrie (FIT/FTI), Belgium
5. Association of Bulgarian Tour Operators and Travel Agents (ABTTA), Bulgaria
6. Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), Croatia
7. Croatian Chamber of Economy (UPA-HGK), Croatia
8. Association of Cyprus Travel Agents (ACTA), Cyprus
9. Asociace Ceskych Cestovnich Kancelari a Agentur (ACCKA), Czech Republic
10. Danmarks Reisebureau Forening/The Association of Danish Travel Agents and Tour Operators (DRF), Denmark
11. Federation Empresarial de Associaciones Territoriales de Agencias de Viajes Espanolas (FETAVE), Spain
12. Asociacion Catalana de Agencias de Viajes Especializdas (ACAVe), Spain
13. Estonian Association of Travel Agents (ETFL), Estonia
14. Suomen matkatoimistoalan litto/The Association of Finnish Travel Agents (SMAL), Finland
15. Syndicat National des Agences de Voyages (SNAV), France
16. Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies (HATTA), Greece
17. Association of Hungarian Travel Agencies (MUISZ), Hungary
18. Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), Ireland
19. Confturismo, Italy
20. Association of Latvian Travel Agents and Operators (ALTA), Latvia
21. Nacionaline Turizmo Verslo Asociacija/National Tourism Business Association (NTVA), Lithuania
22. Federation of Associations of Travel and Tourism Agents (FATTA), Malta
23. Montenegro Tourism Association (CTU), Montenegro
24. Algemeen Nederlands Vereniging van Reisondernemigen (ANVR), The Netherlands
25. The Norwegian Travel Association (VIRKE), Norway
26. Polska Izba Turystyki (PIT), Poland
27. Associaçao Portuguesa das Agencias de Viagens e Turismo (APAVT), Portugal
28. Asociace Ceskych Cestovnich Kancelari a Agentur (ACCKA), Czech Republic
29. Asociatia Nationala A Agentilor De Turism (ANAT), Romania
30. National Association of Travel Agencies (YUTA), Serbia
31. Slovak Association of Travel Agents (SACKA), Slovakia
32. Združenje turističnih agencij Slovenije, g.i.z. (ZTAS), Slovenia
33. Svenska Resebyråföreningen / Association of Swedish Travel Agents (SRF), Sweden
34. Schweizerrischer Reisebüro-Verband (SRV), Switzerland
35. The Travel Association (ABTA), United Kingdom