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The Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) is again calling for members to ensure they have completed the Tourism Australia Aussie Specialist Program (ASP).

Only travel agents who complete the Aussie Specialist Program will be featured on the Tourism Australia website as part of the ‘Holiday Here This Year’ marketing campaign.

Once the Aussie Specialist Program is completed, agents will be included in the Australia.com “find a travel agent near you” link which clients can then use to book with a local agent.

At the onset of COVID-19, Tourism Australia updated the Program for Australian travel agents so their businesses could benefit as much as possible from domestic bookings, in addition to modifying its messaging to include a call to action for agents. Since then, more than 2,000 Australian travel agents have completed the ASP, adding to the 27,000 agents globally who are part of the push to sell Australia.

To date, Tourism Australia’s ‘Holiday Here This Year’ campaign, which includes a call to action to talk to a local travel agent, has reached over 20 million people.

Here is a summary of ‘Holiday Here this Year’ activity which encourages Australian’s to talk to their local travel agent:

Radio
Date: 26 October 2020 to 21 December 2020
Call to action: Plan your trip at Australia.com or talk to your local travel agent today
Travel agents included in both 15 sec radio scripts
Networks: SCA, ARN, TSRN
Reach: 11.1 Million

Print:
Date: 2 November 2020 – 23 November 2020
Call to action: So plan your trip at Australia.com or talk to your local travel agent
Publications: News Corp, ACM networks
Reach: 2.3 Million

Print:
Date: Travel takeover week 31 January 2021 – 6 February 2021
Call to action: Visit Australia.com or talk to your local travel agent today
Publications: News Corp, Nine, 7West and ACM
Reach: 5.2 Million

Print:
Date: Industry Always On 9 February to June 2021
Call to action: Plan an incredible trip with your local travel agent today
Publications: News Corp, Nine, 7West and ACM
Reach: 4.6 Million

Comments from AFTA CEO Darren Rudd:

“AFTA’s partnership with Tourism Australia saw 2,000 travel agents complete the Aussie Specialist Program, equipping them with the tools and resources to sell domestic holidays”.

“We are thankful for the work Tourism Australia has done to support our sector. When COVID-19 hit, Tourism Australia moved swiftly to include a specific travel agent call to action in their ‘Holiday Here This Year’ ad creative and media spend.”

“I encourage members to take full advantage of the opportunity to be a part of the Aussie Specialist Program as now more than ever we know every booking counts.”

“AFTA continues to concentrate on earning media opportunities for our members and industry through public relations and lobbying at a local, state and federal level to highlight the critical need for sector specific funding. Together, we pushed for and received a $128 million cash grant for travel agents in a harsh economic environment where no other sector has secured federal government cash grants.”