ABTA – The Travel Association announced today that the number of ABTA Members using the ABTA-ATOL Joint Administration Scheme has more than doubled in the last twelve months from 62 to 154 companies. The ABTA/ATOL scheme was introduced in 2012 to provide Members with a simple and cost-effective scheme enabling Members to apply for an ATOL licence through ABTA with lower fees.

The scheme is aimed at smaller and medium-sized travel businesses and any ABTA Member with a licensable turnover of less than £1.5m is eligible to apply. In addition to the 154 companies currently enrolled in the scheme another 11 companies are currently going through the application process.

John de Vial, ABTA Head of Financial Protection said: “The ABTA-ATOL Joint Administration Scheme represents a very significant Member benefit and it has been a great success since it was introduced in 2012. This year we have seen a very significant increase in Members using the scheme, which reduces the cost and complexity of the licensing process while leaving Members with complete freedom to choose what products they sell and who they do business with.”

The scheme offers Members the following benefits:

• A single point of contact for all ATOL administration requirements: Members’ Financial and Business Analysts manage the ATOL application process on their behalf.
   
• Reduced ATOL licensing fees: ABTA does not pass administration costs onto Members and so is able to deliver significant cost savings versus applying for a licence via other routes:
  • A saving of up to £1,180 for the initial application, with a guaranteed initial minimum saving of £345, versus the CAA’s licence costs.
  • ABTA’s ATOL licence fee is £710 compared with £1,115 for a Small Business ATOL (SBA) and £1,890 for a Standard ATOL.
  • ABTA’s annual renewal fee is £495 compared with £780 for an SBA renewal and £1,185 for a Standard ATOL renewal.
• Flexibility: ABTA does not restrict holiday products sold by Members, and will not add charges or compulsory fees for supplier failure insurance to Members’ booking arrangements. The ABTA-ATOL Joint Administration Scheme also gives Members the flexibility to trade with up to £1.5m in ATOL turnover, rather than be limited to 500 passengers under an SBA ATOL.
   
• Time saving and cost-effective bonding arrangements: ABTA/ATOL removes the need for duplicate bonds for both the ABTA and CAA ATOL system requirements thus making it more cost effective and hassle-free for Members to have the required bonding in place. ABTA also aims to reduce the bonding requirement for qualifying Members by offering an insurance based ATOL Bond Replacement Scheme through ABTA insurance.