Justin Fleming, ABTA’s President announced the end of his three year term of office at last night’s AGM.  Nominations are invited for the post of Chairman, the new title for the President role.  Nominations for Chairman must be proposed and seconded by a Member of the Board and should be received in writing by 14 May.

Justin Fleming said in his address: “I have very much enjoyed my time as ABTA President. The last three years have been a very challenging and dynamic time for the industry. We have had to deal with tightening security as a result of terrorism; we have seen a consolidation of the top four companies into two, which has reshaped the industry. The merger of ABTA and the FTO has given Members better access to information and FTO expertise in times of crisis, which is proving effective now with swine flu. ABTA has also had considerable success in combating the issue of misleading prices and been able to fight fraud much more effectively.

“I have very much enjoyed working with Mark Tanzer, ABTA’s Chief Executive and together we have pushed ahead with the modernisation of the Association.”

Simon Bunce, ABTA’s Head of Legal & Member Services said about the AGM resolution: “The new title of Chairman better reflects the role, which primarily is as Chairman of ABTA’s Board of Directors. This important office ensures that the Board is running ABTA effectively in a way Members would want. We are now inviting nominations for Chairman. Nominees have to be proposed and seconded by a Board member and have to be posted to me by 14 May.  To date there are no formal nominations and we won't be disclosing or commenting on nominations until we reach the end of the nomination process.”

The Treasurer of ABTA, Hugh Morgan signed off the accounts for the last financial year ending on 30 June 2008, which showed that ABTA had made an increased profit of £285,000 on a turnover of £4.8 million.

John de Vial, ABTA Board Member, was re-appointed to one of the vacant Member positions on the Board.  Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive said: “I am extremely pleased that John has agreed to continue as a Board Director. He has many years experience working within large tour operators, and has extensive knowledge of ABTA. His experience will be invaluable particularly as we continue to integrate the activities of FTO into the wider ABTA setup."