The American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) presented its top priorities on behalf of travel advisors to more than 200 members of the House and Senate as part of its annual Legislative Day last week. ASTA’s legislative priorities encompass adding specific components to the FAA Reauthorization Act, which include clarifying an agency’s obligation to issue a client refund for a cancelled or changed flight to scenarios where the agency is in possession of the funds.
ASTA is also asking for a travel agency seat on the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee, and funding for a cabinet-level official in charge of tourism policy.
Why It Matters: ASTA's Legislative Priorities Aim to Prevent the Confusion of the Past Few Years
ASTA's legislative priorities are a direct consequence of the pandemic — when travel advisors did not receive enough protection from the government and were subject to confusing, changing rules and problems with the air travel system.
The FAA Reauthorization process offers ASTA the opportunity to clarify an advisor’s role in air booking, and makes sure agencies are not on the hook for air matters out of their control. And funding the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism is sorely overdue: The U.S. is the only G20 country without a federal agency or cabinet-level official in charge of tourism policy.
What They Are Saying: Travel Advisors Need to Engage in the Process of Government
“When it comes to the government, you face a choice — engage in the process or put your head in the sand, leave the field to the opposition and hope for the best," said Zane Kerby, president and CEO of ASTA. "Starting well before COVID-19 hit, ASTA and our members have engaged tirelessly, both in D.C. and in the states, and we have a series of wins to show for it. By showing Congress who we are, who we employ and that we are paying attention, the government will understand that travel advisors watch out for the traveling public. Legislative Day is the most important way to send that message.”
Fast Facts: It’s Important that Travel Advisors Have a Seat at the Table When Discussing Air Travel and Tourism Policies
- More than 225 travel advisors and members of ASTA participated in this year's Legislative Day.
- According to ASTA, establishing an Assistant Secretary will put the U.S. on par with its top competitors and provide a senior official to work with our partners across the world on travel issues.
- ASTA is asking for $3.5 million to fund the role.
- In late 2022, Congress passed the bipartisan Visit America Act (P.L. 117-328) to establish the position within the U.S. Department of Commerce, but funding was not included in the bill.
- The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-254) expires at the end of September, and, according to ASTA, “the FY2023 reauthorization process will feature debates on critical air travel distribution issues affecting travel agencies, who are responsible for roughly half of air travel sold in the U.S.”
- ASTA says that both the House and Senate versions of the reauthorization legislation (H.R. 3935/S. 1939) contain provisions supported by ASTA that will benefit consumers and the travel advisors who serve them.
- According to ASTA, “these include: clarifying that an agency’s obligation to issue a client refund for a cancelled/significantly changed flight is limited to scenarios where it is in possession of the funds in question (House Section 710); adding a travel agency seat to DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC) as called for in the bipartisan ACPAC Modernization Act, H.R. 3780 (House Section 704); creating a streamlined system for fulfilling consumer disclosure requirements during “offline” air ticket transactions such as over-the-phone, face-to-face (House Section 709); and, flexibility in terms of how airline ancillary fee information is presented to consumers (Senate Section 705).”
