The strategic initiatives of Project A30 will be aimed at overhauling Australia’s travel sector with long-term growth, sustainability, and resilience.
The Beyond Borders Summit 2025 has officially kicked off in Sydney this week, gathering some of the most powerful minds and change makers in travel to set the stage for the industry’s future. Yesterday at the event, the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) launched Project A30.
ATIA is the peak body for Australia’s travel businesses and represents over 80 per cent of all travel distributors and tour operators in Australia.
According to the organisation, Project A30 will be a complete reimagining of how travel agencies, suppliers, and consumers engage across the board. “The initiatives announced today are the result of three years of diligent work by the ATIA Board and Executive team and mark the start of a key realignment of this organisation,” ATIA chair, Christian Hunter said at the summit.
“The Board has focused on steering ATIA towards a future where we can better respond to the changing landscape of the travel industry with agility and foresight.”
Creating a unified travel industry
At the core of Project A30 is the idea of a single, powerful ATIA brand. Hunter described it as a new phase of responsiveness, where ATIA, through its revamped identity, is more agile and proactive in navigating the travel industry’s complex landscape.
“The shift to a single brand reflects our strategy to build a unified and trusted travel ecosystem. This move will means greater engagement with consumers while simplifying the way we represent our members across the supply chain,” he stated. The idea is straightforward but impactful—streamline, strengthen, and simplify.
Instead of juggling multiple accreditations, the “ATIA accredited” label will consolidate the previous “ATAS accredited” identity to streamline supply chain relationships, and help customers to book with confidence.
“The Single Brand Transition and the switch to ‘ATIA accredited’ is more than just a rebranding; it’s about creating a seamless and trusted travel ecosystem that benefits the entire travel community,” explained Dean Long, ATIA CEO.
Strengthening industry protections
To tackle risks within the industry, ATIA is introducing an Industry-Led Protections program. This initiative is part proactive risk management, part consumer safeguard, and it’s backed by a robust, industry-wide consultation planned for 2025. The goal? Bring everyone to the table—suppliers, agencies, and consumer reps—to help shape a balanced, efficient framework. This is ATIA’s answer to regulatory balance: protection without the red tape.
Long underscored this vision: “By proactively creating protections for suppliers and travel businesses, we’re safeguarding our members and also enhancing consumer confidence in booking through ATIA-accredited businesses.”
The travel industry is also grappling with a workforce gap, a challenge exacerbated by recent global disruptions. ATIA is taking the bull by the horns with two programs: the Gap Year initiative for school leavers and the Travel Career Kickstart Training Program for newcomers.
These are smart moves—empowering the workforce with targeted training and early-career opportunities to ensure the future of Australia’s travel industry remains secure.
Data is becoming the new currency in travel, so ATIA is providing its members with Enterprise Benchmarking Reports—a suite of tools that leverage anonymised ATAS and economic data.
ATIA CEO Dean Long said, “Our Industry-Led Protections initiative will be a game-changer for risk management within the sector. By proactively creating protections for suppliers and travel businesses, we’re safeguarding our members and also enhancing consumer confidence in booking through ATIA-accredited businesses.”
Modern slavery compliance
As regulations surrounding modern slavery reporting evolve, compliance is increasingly time-consuming for travel businesses. ATIA will partner with industry stakeholders to develop a streamlined compliance system that reduces paperwork but keeps the focus on ethical standards. This modernisation aligns with ATIA’s accreditation processes and simplifies operations for members.
ATIA wants to move beyond just creating policies; they’re speaking passionately about defining a better blueprint for the future of Australian travel.
As Dean Long put it, “This program will strengthen our industry’s reputation as a leader in quality, security, and reliability.”
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