If you were among the 200 people who joined ABTA’s Marketing and PR conference yesterday, you will have heard a lot of discussion about the importance of building and maintaining trust and loyalty in your brand. A trusted brand is a critical part of ABTA’s offer – both for Members and consumers - and we’re pleased to report that ABTA’s latest brand research shows consumers continue to hold ABTA membership in high regard.
 
The latest findings of our brand ‘pulse survey’, carried out on the first weekend of March after the Prime Minister’s announcement on lockdown, show that ‘trusted’, ‘protection’, ‘reliable’ and ‘helpful’ are among the words and sentiments that first come to people’s mind when they are asked about their perceptions of ABTA. It also reveals that around 70% of consumers continue to associate ABTA with reassurance, reliability and confidence, despite the turmoil in the travel sector. 
 
These are really important values and it is great to see such a strong association with ABTA, particularly as people will be looking for these attributes when travel starts to reopen and we know there is an important role for ABTA to help people feel reassured and confident to travel again.
 
The ABTA brand is a reflection of our Members and the high standards of service provided. The brand feedback is a tribute to the tremendous work of Members in supporting customers over the last 12 months, working hard to provide the highest level of service during the most difficult times and challenging circumstances. 
 
We strongly encourage Members to use the ABTA brand – by displaying it on your website, in your marketing materials and in your stores – as this helps Members benefit from the sentiment of trust and confidence that customers associate with ABTA.
 
Global Travel Taskforce
As I outlined last week, ABTA is fully engaged with the Global Travel Taskforce and I have been attending meetings with Government this week, putting forward the perspective of ABTA Members. If you were on the ABTA Member conference call on Tuesday, you will have heard ABTA’s Luke Petherbridge give an overview of the taskforce and how we are contributing to it. If you didn’t manage to attend the call you can listen again here. We continue to co-ordinate the Save Future Travel Coalition, and given the timeframe for the taskforce, we have increased the frequency of the coalition’s meetings from fortnightly to weekly, to help ensure a timely exchange of ideas and insights. 
 
New Board Director
I’d like to take the opportunity to offer a warm welcome to Steve Heapy, Jet2 Plc’s Chief Executive, who takes up post as a Director of the Board of ABTA on 25 March. You can read more about his appointment here.

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive