Interview with Kathyrn Sudeikis CTC, President and CEO of ASTA

ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents)- the largest consortium of travel agents association in the world with over 20000 members held its first ever International Destination Expo (IDE) between 21st March and 26th March in the city of Prague, Czech Republic. Our Editor cum Director of Compact Travels who attended the Expo caught up with Kathy to find out more about ASTA and its role in keeping travel agents abreast with the ever changing scenario in the travel industry.

Tell us about your association with ASTA and the role of ASTA in general
I have been in the travel industry for over 35 years and I have served ASTA as a President and a member of the Board of Directors and since 1st October 2004, I am the President and CEO of ASTA. We have fully paid staff in Washington D.C. who are the Association Executives and they run the day-to-day operations of the organization. ASTA represents the travel agent community with our suppliers as well as in the media and also in the Government. It is very important that we represent the travel agency community but as important is that we are an advocate to the consumer in many of the same venues, especially in Government because in the United States there is a new trend to tax the traveller rather than tax the constituency of a county or a city or a State and airport taxes and car rental taxes continue to grow. So we are defending the consumer and saying that it would become impossible for consumer to travel if you continue to tax them. We have a wonderful consumer website www.travelsense.org that brings the traveller to the website and helps them to choose the travel agent either by their zip code or by their speciality. For example everyone who is here at the IDE, would be listed as a Central Europe specialist on the website and then we would be sending consumer messages through the media telling them that if you want to know about agents who are specializing in Central Europe and Czech Republic, here are the agents who specialize in these destinations.

What is ASTA's membership base?
There are over 20000 members of ASTA worldwide and they are having representations in over 125 countries across the globe. There are over 40 international chapters and 30 domestic chapters. A chapter is formed when there are more than 5 members and there is a very strong ASTA Chapter in India.

What is your role as a President and CEO of ASTA and how do you liaise with the agents from across the globe?
Atleast twice a year at our national and international meetings, we convene a meeting of International Chapter Presidents Council and I address that group and we talk about what new things we are doing, how we can network and how we can incorporate other countries into the system. There are a number of terrific opportunities for international members to network with America and their counterparts. There is something called the web exchange which is on ASTA net and ASTA net is a protected site and you have to be a member to get the privileged information. You can host your offerings on the web exchange, you can interact with consumers who might have issues, you can interact with other ASTA travel agents. With your membership you can have actual click through opportunity from the ASTA website to your operation and do business with American travel agents.

We have an education and training programme for international members. One of the specialist programmes is the USA specialist, just as we have a destination specialist programme for places like Jordan and Cuba. We also have lifestyle specialist programmes such as the family specialist programme.

When did ASTA plan the International Destination Expo(IDE) and how did you go about it?
In 1988 we had a very successful ASTA World Congress in Budapest and around that time the Czech Republic was interested in having a similar event and obviously it wasn't our pattern to repeat a similar event.

In 2002, it became obvious with the ASTA plan to move around the world with big trade shows in different locations was a model that wasn't working anymore and it was very difficult for people to budget and plan when and where is ASTA planning its next meeting and so we took a very bold step in 2002 where we decided that in 2005 we would hold the last ASTA World Congress in the traditional format and that we would break it into two separate events.

Every spring there would be an immersion into a country's culture in a foreign destination that would be the equivalent to a super fam trip with the sights and sounds and smells. Czech Republic was very aggressive in bidding for that opportunity and we awarded that opportunity to the Czech Republic in 2002 to host the first IDE in 2006 and to Jeju Island in South Korea in the following year. We are now inviting bids for 2008 and 2009 IDEs and we are exploring destinations to hold this event. Every Autumn the second week of September from now on until 2020 we have a contractual obligation to have an annual TRADE show where TRADE refers to Travel Retailing And Destination Expo.

This would be a worldwide trade show with all the different travel associations in the United States where all the travel vendors will meet under one roof rather than the suppliers plying back and forth across the United States and do business with travel agents. It will always be the same weekend, in the even years it would be in Orlando and in the odd years it would be in Las Vegas. It will be powered by ASTA in conjunction with ITB Berlin and it would be quite in the same format as ITB in Berlin but on the shores of North America.

What was the reaction of ASTA members on this new IDE format?
There was a lot of sentiment about the ASTA World Congress but our meeting last year in Montreal was the grandest. It was an exceptional, rousing and enthusiastic send off as this was our last World Congress.

There after the annual event would be renamed as IDE - International Destination Expo. It’s a great achievement that just in a 100 days after our Montreal meet we could attract 1205 Travel agents to participate in first IDE at Prague.

These are the new genre of working travel agents here who want to be better and smarter about destinations rather than just travelling to see their friends. This IDE is very exciting and I think our hosts are as much pleased as the delegates. The opportunity to go for the gala dinner in the Prague Castle, was like visiting a movie set, it was just one of the things that we will always remember and an ideal way to kick off this IDE-the first of it kind which replaces the World Congress. I think this IDE-International Destination Expo in Prague has created a very high standard for future IDEs which will be tough to meet but we will be winners. I think the travel agents have paid a considerable amount of money to fly in and come here, they have invested in their future and quite honestly they have invested in the future of Czech Republic Tourism as well.

What are the future plans of ASTA?
There are a lot of changes going on. We also decided that we have too many categories of membership and we did some expansive research with companies in the US and they came up with some very interesting areas that are not being serviced within the travel industry, not in terms of suppliers but in terms of business services and we found out that the travel agents especially within the US were paying a considerable amount of money to outsiders such as lawyers, accountants, tax professionals and technology professionals.

So the board took a very bold step by saying that if we changed our membership to offer the members that we have today, the core membership, the same services that they are getting today with an enhanced online connection, we could retain those members and really service with them at a 100 US Dollars less than what we are doing today. This way we can carefully create a product for the others that they would consider putting us on retainer for an equivalent of 200 US Dollars a month and actually pay 2500 US Dollars annually to be a premier member of the association.

Thus, they are not buying more votes or more status in the company but instead they are buying services from us. So that decision was made and we would launch from 1st January 2007, the core membership and the premier membership of ASTA and with our board meeting finishing here in Prague, we talked about the fact as to how the industry has changed and all our businesses have changed. We therefore needed to change how ASTA was governed and now we are going to have an all new strategy of how the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, the Treasurer and the Board of Directors would represent the industry as a whole and not geographically as it was before. The Directors at large would be the best people for the job.

We also have a member of the International Chapter Presidents' Council who serves on our board of Directors who reports on the issues of the International Members and now that you have 15 International members, you have 1/15th of the opportunity to have your issues addressed. 9 members at large, 3 members of the Chapter Presidents' Council, 1 member of the International Chapter President and 2 members of the Profit Advisory Council who make up the 15 members of the Board of Directors.

They have been there and done a solid job in representing the members and we've come up with this web exchange and the opportunity to list business and do business more easily at the request of the international members who felt we were not doing the business aggressively. There is a terrific education component and ASTA is willing to come to your destination and do some training on how to do business in the United States or other kinds of training as well. However, you are a big country and if we do it in Bangalore, we would have to do it another time in Mumbai and some other time in Delhi.

Which is your preferred destination in US and across the globe?
I do travel a lot. I love the excitement of New York city year round. I am a big fan of South Africa and I recently came back from a trip of India and I was impressed by Jaipur and the hotel in the lake. It was very outstanding and colourful. And who can forget the most romantic place, the Taj Mahal in Agra - I did my Princess Diana picture sitting on a bench in front of the Taj Mahal, it was awesome.

Lastly, what is your message to readers.
I think with the calamities happening across the world, there is a model which says ”without the travel agent you are on your own”. The destinations are changing and the destinations are there but there may be a better time to go to a particular destination and that’s what a travel agent can advise you on. In terms of documentation too, if you are on the internet, you may not understand what you are missing in terms of documentation. The travel agents today are not just about an airline ticket anymore, they are there to help you to prepare for your trip from the very first step right from the correct documentation to the insurance.

They know all about the risks involved and the positives involved, what's under construction and what isn't. Certainly you can find the information on the internet but at times there is an information overload and the travel agent is the unbiased third party that will help you sort all of this. The travel agent will develop a relationship with a client that will keep coming back to you and the same applies to the consumer. Trust your travel agent, they are professionals and if they don't bring out the best value then change. The travel agents who provide value become an invaluable resource for you and the consumer will travel to the end of the earth to find you.

The farewell to the first ever IDE

As the first ever IDE - International Destination Expo in Prague concluded on Saturday, March 25, 2006 , the American Society of Travel Agents' (ASTA) was pleased to announce that 1200 travel agents, suppliers, tour operators and other travel professionals were in attendance. The 2006 IDE attendees represented over 40 countries around the world.

IDE's program of events included an open-floor trade show, one-on-one business meetings with suppliers, product seminars, networking events and plenty of sightseeing opportunities. A new type of seminar was offered that presented travel agents with the opportunity to earn specialist certificates on up to 13 Central and Eastern European destinations. Seminars were on the following countries: The Czech Republic, Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia and Slovenia. ASTA will be promoting these travel agents achievements to consumers, making sure potential clients know that they are a Central and Eastern European expert.

The trade show floor had suppliers representing 13 regions of the Czech Republic and unique areas such as Korea, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Egypt, Kenya, the United Kingdom, parts of Asia and more. Also exhibiting were hotel and resort companies representing thousands of international properties, airlines, car rental and limousine companies, tour companies representing multiple destination products, travel-related companies, insurance companies, destination management companies, cruise lines and others.

About ASTA

The mission of the American Society of Travel Agents and its affiliate organizations is to enhance the professionalism and profitability of members worldwide through effective representation in industry and government affairs, education and training, and by identifying and meeting the needs of the traveling public. The Society is the world's largest and most influential travel trade association with 20000 members in more than 140 countries.

Inaugural Address of International Destination EXPO

Starting the inaugural address at the first ever IDE, Kathyrn highlighted that the destination seminars which were an integral part of the IDE would help us, the travel agents to acquire knowledge and understanding of the destination and will enable the travel agents to serve the clients much better and learn about the beauty and culture of the country that will make us better travel agents when we return home.

Travel Agents face strong competition in an ever changing world within the travel industry. Travel Agents today need to travel more and immerse themselves in the offerings of a country in order to be smarter than their clients. I am extremely pleased by bringing over 1000 people to Czech Republic to attend the expo and this itself is a testament to Prague's attraction especially as it has been only 100 days since ASTA had its World Congress in Montreal.

Kathryn also welcomed the guests from the Korean National Tourism Organization and the representatives of Jeju Island who will be hosting the next IDE between March 25 and March 29 of 2007. ASTA will also be having the Travel Retailing and Destination Expo later this year from September 10 to 13 in Orlando, Florida of the year. The Trade Show is the association's newest event and it provides training and networking opportunities for the industry.

Kathryn also shared that the new and improved ASTA will be officially launched on January 1, 2007. Later Pavel Bérn, the Mayor of the City of Prague highlighted what Prague has to offer to travel agents and through them to the tourists who would be coming into Prague in the coming year. He added that there are more than 80 excursions that one can take out of Prague, invited the members of the international travel fraternity to experience some of the excursions during the ASTA Expo week.

About Kathyrn Sudeikis CTC, President and CEO of ASTA

Kathryn W. Sudeikis, CTC, Vice President of Corporate Relations for All About Travel in Mission, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, was inducted as ASTA's National President and CEO in October 2004. A working travel agent, Sudeikis appeared in the 2002-2005 editions of Travel and Leisure magazine as one of their “Super Travel Agent” on readers recommendations. Sudeikis was recognized as the 2002 “Travel Agent of the Year” by the readers of Travel Trade magazine.

In 2005, Sudeikis was nominated as “Travel Association Personality of the Year” at the World Travel Awards in London and in December 2005, received Travel Weekly magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award. She appeared in Travel Agent magazine's “100 Most Powerful Women” in travel.

A 35-year industry veteran, Sudeikis is an accomplished speaker and has addressed groups at many industry events, including the National Tour Association (NTA), the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), the Cruise Lines International Asociation (CLIA) and the Travel Agent Associations of India, South Africa, Australia and Germany.

Sudeikis earned her Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) distinction in 1976 from The Travel Institute (formerly the Institute of Certified Travel Agents) and was awarded a lifetime membership in 1983. She is currently serving on Travel Agent Advisory Boards for Classic Vacations, the German National Tourist Office, Rail Europe, Thrifty Car Rental and Viking River Cruises. Sudeikis in the past has been on a variety of boards including: The American Express Travel Agent Advisory Board, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company, Disney Attractions and the State of the Maine.

Sudeikis was the lead issue manager on ASTA's consumer awareness campaign. In that role she oversaw the Society's efforts to promote the value of a travel agent and spearheaded the public relations campaign, with the slogan, “Without a travel agent, you're on your own.”

Kathryn on influence of Technology in Travel Industry

Kathryn added that technology has revolutionized the way people make decisions. Technology today influences over 50 million people. Whereas it took radio 30 years to reach that threshold, it took television 13 years, it took cable television 10 years and the internet took barely 5 years and by summer of 2005 over 900 million people use the internet. “

As per statistics available it is estimated that the global internet commerce would reach 4 trillion dollars by summer of 2005 and I am sure it has exceeded that threshold,” Kathy added. In the travel trade there are over half a billion of potential customers using the internet for travel related services every year. Change is constant and this applies aptly to the travel industry as well.

Eventually every technology becomes obsolete so we should be adaptable to changes. We must identify what is our role as a travel agent. We are at a junction where suppliers want us and consumers also absolutely need us. ASTA is therefore taking the initiative to create globalised events to equip the agents to meet the challenges of technology and changing style of business.

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