Travel director weighs options for third bid

When the next congress of the United Federation of Travel Agents Association (UFTAA) meets in Hungary in September, local travel agent Indar Weir will be considering his options to bid for a third consecutive term on the board of directors of that prestigious organisation or give way to others so that he can focus on his quest to bring home the St Philip North seat for the Barbados Labour Party.And Weir is suggesting that if the region hopes to take the tourism industry to another level, it should consider hosting one of the annual congresses which brings together in excess of 100 000 travel agents at any one time. Weir made these disclosures recently during an interview.He explained that the UFTAA is a global body which governs all of the associations of travel agents.Weir further explained that as a Caribbean director, he represented the region for the first two terms and Canada was added in the last two.  “It is a very prestigious position to hold, but it is also time consuming and stressful. You are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the concerns of the region you are representing are soundly articulated in terms of its relationships with the International Air Transport Association (IATA),” Weir said.He pointed out that being director called for extensive travel to such regions as Europe, the Far East and the African continent.Explaining the election process, Weir said: “Every two years the associations of the regions nominate two candidates and then a vote is taken at the International Congress to elect a director and a deputy to serve on the board.”Weir pointed out that during his two terms he had articulated a position on standards where he believed that the Caribbean region should set standards for agencies to follow in terms of level of service, the type of partnerships they had with airlines and tourism partners and in terms of training.Need trained agents“I believe firmly that we need to develop a pool of trained agents from which to draw at anytime. What currently exists is a situation where if an agency in the region is in need of competent employees there is a tendency to draw on the resources of their fellow association members,” Weir said.He disclosed that he is charged with the responsibility of executing rigorous training programmes throughout the Caribbean where participants could become certified and gain employment anywhere in the world where the UFTAA is recognised.Barbados benefitWeir explained that his presence on the board of directors would be to the advantage of Barbados and the region.He said: “We are not only speaking in terms of the number of visitors coming to our shores. What it speaks to is creating the type of human resources that we need to be able to execute at a very professional level what is required to build a strong and dynamic travel trade.“It would enable the region to grapple with many of the issues that confront the trade when airlines are seeking mainly to develop efficiencies within their management structures.“They make decisions that sometimes might be deemed unpopular for travel agencies in particular, but also for some of our tourism stakeholders.”Weir stressed that his role as a diretor was to ensure that he put forward the concerns raised by the Caribbean region and in recent times the member associations of Canada.“One must have an extremely strong working relationship with the associations across the region and be able to firmly present to the governing body the views of the Caribbean and Canadian travel community in such a manner that they are acknowledged and carried,” Weir  explained. (PR/WG)