By Laura Del Rosso
HONOLULU -- An aggressive drive to attract delegates to ASTA's
72nd World Travel Congress here last week resulted in just over
3,000 travel agents and suppliers in attendance, including for the
first time hundreds of travel agents who do not belong to ASTA.
"We wanted to make sure that the attendees were a cross-section
of travel agents, regardless of their affiliation," said Bill
Maloney, who acknowledged that ASTA faced a challenge in that ASTA
faced a challenge in attracting large numbers of agents during a
difficult year for many in the industry.
Of the 3,000 attendees, about 1,600 were travel agents and --
reflecting the recent membership drive to recruit delegates -- 40%
of them are nonmembers.
In the past, agents had to be ASTA members to attend the
congress.
The Hawaii travel industry and other industry suppliers were
enlisted in the effort to drive up attendance, with several,
including Royal Caribbean, Thrifty and Marriott, paying the
registration for dozens of their top-producing agents.
Drives within chapters to attract agents to the congress also
were successful, with the Central Atlantic chapter, for example,
getting nearly 100 agents who are not ASTA members -- almost as
many agents as members of the chapter -- to travel to Honolulu for
the congress.
Maloney said the policy to allow non-ASTA agents to attend will
continue next year.
Richard Copland, ASTA president, said the Society faced
obstacles because "agents are starved for time," with many agencies
working short-staffed after having to cut back their workforces
after Sept. 11.
"The vast majority of agents did not go back to their normal
workforce."
This ASTA congress may have had the closest-ever working
relationship with the host destination, said Society officials.
"This will be the model on which all other [congresses] will be
measured from now on," said Susan Tanzman, congress chairwoman, who
pointed to all-day, complimentary fam trips to the neighbor islands
offered by the Hawaii visitor industry as well as extra bonus
commission offered by six major tour operators to delegates who
book Hawaii packages when they return to their offices.
Maloney said ASTA's intent was to "make this a different
congress."
"The ASTA congress had to change and the hardest part is to
change its reputation," Maloney said, which was why the event was
filled with social functions rather than serious educational
opportunities.