BACKGROUND
The Association of Cyprus Travel Agents (ACTA) is the
sectoral association representing the travel agencies
and tour operations in the Republic of Cyprus. Based in
Nicosia, ACTA has 5 staff members and handles a range
of tasks, including:
Representation of Cyprus in international organisations such as ECTAA and UFTAA
Representation of travel agents in national organisations such as Parliament, the Cyprus Tourism Organisation and similar entities
Review and consultation of all laws which impact the travel sector
Market observation and dissemination of sectoral trends and developments to members
Collection of travel agency & tour operators insurance guarantees in line with the EU Package Tour Directive
Development of training and educational events
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Tourism accounted for 22% of Cyprus' GDP in 2000. A total
of 2,3 million foreign tourists visited the island, and
a total of 590.000 domestic outbound flights by Cypriots
added to the tourism product. Together with foreign tour
operators. airlines and hotel groups, travel agents comprise
the most important distribution channel for incoming and
outbound tourism in Cyprus.
The profession of the travel agent is coming under increasing
pressure as a result of new technologies (Internet bookings)
and the entrance of new intermediaries into the travel
industry. As a result, the travel industry is increasingly
resembling a commodities market, where the only chances
for survival are leveraging agency size to develop economies
of scale, or specialising in market niches.
THE CHALLENGE
NAVIGATOR's assignment was to craft a new institutional
strategy for ACTA that would guide its activities for
the next 5 years. The major components of this strategy
included:
- Continuation / expansion of revenue-generation;
- Development of institutional independence;
- Staff training and development;
- Information systems development and implementation;
- Development of an ACTA brand for the sector;
- Expansion of services to members;
- Knowledge leadership of the tourism sector.
A major aspect of this project was positioning and preparing
ACTA members for EU accession, and the changes that harmonisation
of national law with the
Acquis Communautaire would
bring.
OUR SERVICES
We implemented a comprehensive review of current activities,
the operating budget, sources of finance, staff work organisation
and time management, information technology and similar
aspects of operations. In addition, we:
Interviewed ACTA "customers" — including 5 travel agencies and tour operators
Benchmarked ACTA's activities against other sectoral associations and institutions in Cyprus, including the Cyprus Tourism Organisation
Benchmarked ACTA to other national tourism associations, and primarily the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), which is considered an EU model of development
Modelled the impact of EU Accession on organisational and institutional resources
Analysed future revenue-generating activities
Development of training and educational events
We co-operated with ACTA staff at all stages
of the process, and presented results to the ACTA Board
of Directors as well as to a plenary session for all ACTA
members.
RESULTS
The results of the project were:
The development of a comprehensive institutional strategy, phased to take into account changes prior to EU accession and following EU accession
The development of specific recommendations for change for travel agencies as enterprises
A Business Plan for Implementation
