Agents’ big discount confirmed

Press, 9 October 1982, Page 6

Agents’ big discount confirmed

About 130 travel agents who attend their association’s conference in Singapore later this month will be eligible for a 75 per cent air fare discount, the Minister of Transport, Mr Gair. has confirmed.

In a written answer to a question by Mr N. J. Kirk (Labour, Sydenham), Mr Gair said that accredited ’agents were allowed the deduction under standard international practice. They were allowed the concession on one trip a year. It applied on all international airlines.

It was expected that about 130 agents would take advantage of the concession on Air New Zealand flights to the week-long conference, Mr Gair told Parliament yesterday. The value of the concession was confidential to the

airline, he said. However. Mr Kirk estimated that it would cost the airline about $270,000. As well as the 130 who would receive subsidised air travel, the 500 agents at the conference expected to get a 67.5 per cent tax rebate on .their costs.

The conference was "an ultra-expensive junket.” said Mr Kirk. Only 3¥z hours on one day of the conference could be seen as promotion of New Zealand’s tourist industry. / It was a “huge joke” on the New Zealand taxpayer, at a time when the overseas payments situation had never been worse.

Mr Kirk said the conference was a “slap in the face” to the promotion of New Zealand as a tourist or convention destination. It was a

statement by New Zealand travel agents that venues such as Christchurch. Wairakei. Rotorua, and Auckland were not good enough for their own convention.

The .president of the Travel Agents' Association. Mr L. H. Tremain, said from Auckland yesterday that Mr Kirk's comments were “purely politicking.” Mr Kirk did not realise that the conference was a major promotion of New Zealand in South-East Asia. A recent Tourist and Publicity Department report had highlighted the potential for the New Zealand tourism industry in that area, he said.

About 200 of the 500 delegates would be from the Asian countries. One whole day of the three spent on

conference work would be devoted to a New Zealand Day promotion, which would be attended by 250 or 300 travel consultants from Asian countries.

“A good deal of the work is done off the conference floor. Our people will be constantly making the New Zealand point of view known.” Mr Tremain said.

Commenting on the tax and travel concessions available, Mr Tremain said all agents were entitled to a travel discount under International Air Transport Association regulations. That was the norm.

The agents at the conference did not expect to be able to claim a tax deduction on the full cost of their trips. That was far from the truth, he said.

The association had a policy of holding its annual conference overseas every third year. Three years ago it was held at Hobart. That conference was attended by the Minister of Tourism. Mr Cooper, and it was then that the Australian Travel Agents’ Association was persuaded to hold its conference in Christchurch this year. Because of the size of the conference, only three or four New Zealand venues could cater for it. All the suitable New Zealand venues had been used in the last 20 years. The association's policy was to hold conferences only at overseas destinations served by Air New Zealand and where there was the prospect of encouraging New Zealand tourism. Mr Tremain said.