Canada’s Two Major Agent Assns. May Join Forces

The Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors (CITC) and the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA), Canada’s two leading industry associations, may join forces if CITC members vote to do so at their annual general meeting on April 22 in Toronto.

Integration, not true merger
The move would be an integration of CITC into ACTA, not a true merger, which would not be allowed under Canada’s rules governing not-for-profit organizations, said Heather Craig-Peddie, ACTA’s director of operations.

“Therefore ACTA has submitted a proposal to CITC to integrate,” she said. “In this situation, CITC would dissolve its corporate charter, and the operations of the educational wing for the Canadian travel industry would integrate into ACTA.”

If it comes to pass, the change will be a major development in the Canadian travel industry.

“This merger has been in the works for about 10 years with loads of discussions on the merits and challenges, so to see it come together is a really significant breakthrough,” said Ron Pradinuk, president of Renaissance Travel, an Ensemble Travel Group affiliate in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and a former ACTA president.

Positive step for the industry
From a practical standpoint, CITC would become a division of or an educational department within ACTA.

Although the organization chart has not been finalized, if the integration is approved, the educational vision of CITC will be represented on ACTA’s national board of directors and through its regional councils, according to Craig-Peddie.

This would be a positive step the industry as a whole, she said.

“ACTA would house a department with the primary focus of providing professional certification requirements and developing a recruitment plan to get more students or second career individuals into the retail travel profession,” Craig-Peddie said.

The move would also be a good one for both ACTA and CITC, according to Pradinuk.

“A key benefit is that it prioritizes continuing education as a key component to ACTA membership and sets the tone for future expectations coming into the industry,” he said.

The integration will give CITC more direct access to Canada’s agencies, he said, adding that “the genuine unified message of professionalizing the industry makes a major statement.”

Other benefits
Integration would also bring cost savings in operations and boost the organizations’ clout, Craig-Peddie said.

“In addition, CITC will have the opportunity to integrate easily into ACTA’s new database and website. From the reduction in expenses to the synergies in our business strategy, sharing resources will benefit the new combined organization and allow for us to become a tremendous force in Canada.”

Membership
ACTA has about 2,000 agency members with about 15,000 agents. CITC’s membership numbers about 3,000 individual agents, of whom about 2,000 are certified. The overlap in membership is estimated to be somewhere around 50%.

Current members of both organizations will be able to continue their membership(s), and there is no plan to increase membership fees.