CATO is delighted to advise that the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has released its updated Advertising Code of Conduct for ATAS Participants.
The new code addresses the use of 'artificial' pricing that we have seen in the marketplace for a few years now.
In 2019, CATO took a stand against unethical and misleading 'travel deals' advertising, with the organisation's Chairman, Dennis Bunnik, being particularly vocal on the issue. Many will recall Bunnik pressing for change at CATO's June 2019 AGM where he was quoted as saying, "the use of 'typically' or 'valued at' pricing is often so unrealistic it is laughable"—something that was widely reported in travel industry media at the time.
Through the latter part of 2019, CATO continued to advocate for change to the code, working closely with AFTA and writing to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to raise our concerns with the practice.
As ATAS accreditation is mandated for Full Members of CATO, the new guidelines affect those tourism operators.
Details on the new code can be found HERE.
And you can DOWNLOAD the guidelines HERE.
For more details or queries, please contact Brett Jardine, Managing Director of CATO at bjardine@cato.travel
