ASTA CEO Zane Kerby sat down with tours and river cruise editor Brinley Hineman at the Society's Salt Lake City conference last month, where they discussed AI and the impact it will have on travel advisors, the organization's key priorities for advocacy efforts and how members' businesses are faring amid an uncertain economy.
Zane Kerby
Q: What are some key advocacy efforts underway?
A: We have really important touchpoints with the Department of Transportation and with Congress to try to get our members from under this onerous provision [about merchant of record refunds] that was written into the FAA [reauthorization bill]. It doesn't affect a whole lot of our members, but for the ones that it affects, it is extraordinarily dangerous, so we want that fixed immediately. We also have written to DOT secretary [Sean] Duffy, who reached out to groups like ASTA to ask them which regulations were no longer in the public's interest.
Q: How is AI impacting things for members?
A: I talked to the ASTA board about this the other day, and I feel like I'm the most concerned about it of any of the 15 advisors that sit on our board. They're still looking at it as a really good research assistant. The reason that our profession is sturdy is because of the trust that exists between consumers and travel advisors. I'm not sure that AI is going to supplant that trust with a bunch of haphazard recommendations. It doesn't feel to me like it's replacing the trust at all that exists between consumers and travel advisors.
Q: There's a lot going on, with economic uncertainty and with the U.S. projected to lose $12.5 billion in inbound travel. What's on your mind?
A: I'm really thankful that my job is not inbound tourism to the United States. The vast majority of our members are executing and planning trips that are outbound from the United States, and that business is very, very good. We certainly understand that public policy decisions that affect Americans' willingness to travel abroad is important to keep our eye on.
As we have talked to our members, both here and in surveys beforehand and anecdotally over the last several months, so far -- touch wood -- business is going very, very well for members. Obviously, it's something we want to keep an eye on, and we try to be proactive. But it's certainly not helpful to opine on every public policy decision that's made. When public policy decisions that are made affect our members' businesses, we will react and act appropriately at the time.
Q: So it's not affecting advisors planning outbound travel?
A: That's largely the case. Now, there are pockets: We're in the D.C. area, and so when I talk to advisors in the D.C. area, on the luxury side, everything is going gangbusters. But for those who are affected -- there's a large federal workforce in the D.C. area, and so some of that uncertainty [that comes] with layoffs and proposed layoffs has affected some travel in that sort of midtier range.
Q: What about members planning domestic travel?
A: Members are getting a lot of questions around the national parks this year, for obvious reasons. I think that it is having some effect, but it's not [having a big impact]. Even the domestic business is good -- pockets of stress, but nothing I'm worried about.