NEW directives that endangered the survival of many travel agencies in the UAE and the GCC were issued last month by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Those agencies which could comply with the new requirements would face heavy increases in costs, according to a report in Emirates Business 24/7.
However, a few days later IATA was reported to have said that the move would in reality positively impact the region’s travel industry.
The IATA directive says that all agencies in the region working under the sponsored sales intermediaries (SSIs) had until December 31 this year to apply for IATA accreditation to run their businesses. But now the aviation body has mandated an implementation date of 2010 enabling existing SSIs enough time to change their participation status to either IATA accredited agents or general sales agents (GSAs), it was reported in Emirates Business 24/7.
Dr Majdi Sabri, IATA’s regional vice president, Middle East and North Africa, was quoted as saying, “This is the only market in the world with SSIs and we are confident that with the agents’ co-operation we will be able to align the Gulf market with the world markets.”
Sabri said that benefits for travel agents included a stronger identity and brand due to their affiliation with IATA, and that they “will be introduced to the world’s international scheduled airlines with a unique identification code in the travel industry. They will also have a single standard agreement that simplifies their business, and allows them to sell most airline products without having to negotiate a separate contract with each individual airline,” continued the Emirates Business 24/7 report.
