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The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) Chair, Tom Manwaring, and AFTA CEO Darren Rudd, met with the Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism & Investment on Wednesday.

AFTA Chair Tom Manwaring said that the meeting was a constructive one in which the issues and concerns of the sector were discussed in great detail.

“The Minister spent considerable time listening to us in order to understand, in detail, the nuances of the travel sector’s operations and challenges before moving on to discuss the Grants Program.”

“Minister Tehan acknowledges the distress of businesses within the travel and tourism sector. The Minister is committed to continuing to work with AFTA to support the industry.”

Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan thanked AFTA for its constructive engagement with the Government.

“The Morrison government has supported travel agents through JobKeeper and the $128 million Travel Support Program and it was valuable to hear firsthand from the sector how businesses are coping,” Mr Tehan said.

“I urge all travel agents to submit their grant application for the Travel Support Program as soon as possible.”

It is pleasing to note that through the Federal Government $128 million Travel Support Program over $61 million has been paid to 1,591 travel businesses. A further 1,010 claims are being processed and the industry is encouraged to keep applying until applications close on 13 March 2021.