1) Global Distribution System (GDS). ITSA seeks to provide accurate and complete information about the full value and capabilities of the world's GDS companies and about new trends in travel distribution. Relying on state-of-the-art technology, GDSs provide their travel partners with comprehensive and flexible services to help them succeed. GDSs offer everything from the simplest roundtrip air ticket to complex global itineraries encompassing air, lodging, ground transportation, entertainment and more. As the leading voice for the industry, ITSA, on behalf of its members, is conducting a public education effort to underscore the historic record of GDSs as trusted, innovative and global partners with both travel agents and travel suppliers and to set the record straight against any inaccurate descriptions of the GDS value proposition.
2) Federal and State Taxation of Travel and Tourism Services. Airline, hotel and car rental taxes imposed by government authorities are imposing an extraordinary burden on our recovering industry, and the proceeds of these taxes are often used for purposes that are completely unrelated to promoting travel and tourism. As our industry develops new and innovative methods of distribution, some government authorities are attempting to impose ill-advised new tax schemes that will increase the cost of travel for consumers. ITSA will work toward fair tax treatment for our industry.
3) Homeland Security. The safety and security of leisure and business travelers is one of the primary concerns of ITSA in 2005. ITSA will meet and work with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other units of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to improve coordination of security measures and better disseminate notice of those measures to travelers. This may include the formation of a travel security working group.
4) International Initiatives. The handling of CRS and other travel distribution issues in bilateral or multilateral negotiations, or those conducted under the sanction of international organizations, are of ongoing interest to ITSA members. ITSA will monitor and engage in any negotiations where the interests of its members are at stake. An example is the current bilateral air services agreement negotiations occurring between the European Union and the U.S.
5) Travel Promotion. ITSA continues to work with a coalition of non-member travel-focused companies, consumer and small business groups, chambers of commerce, trade associations and public policy organizations to promote business and leisure travel. ITSA and its member companies have worked to ensure that our supplier partners have remained in operation, especially after September 11th, and will continue to work with all parties connected with the travel industry to increase consumer confidence and choice in travel.
6) Sellers of Travel Regulation. Some states are attempting to regulate sellers of travel broadly, both online and conventional, in order to remedy the actions of a few bad actors. ITSA is working with these various states to ensure that fraudulent travel schemes and other bad actions that may not be covered under existing law are targeted very directly and narrowly by any additional legislation and/or regulation. Overly broad and restrictive regulation will burden the system and penalize the overwhelming majority of sellers of travel who scrupulously observe the law, resulting in reduced consumer choice and attendant impacts on travel and tax dollars.
7) SPAM. SPAM - nontargeted, broadscale, email advertising - was subjected to regulation under 2003's CAN-SPAM Act. The FTC has been charged with developing regulations and a plan for potential national do-not-email registry. Spam, which is often unwelcome, and sometimes is used to mislead consumers by the unscrupulous, impairs the ability of legitimate businesses to use e-mail to communicate with their customers. ITSA supports the reasonable parameters of anti-spam regulation embodied in the CAN-SPAM Act. ITSA will continue to participate in anti-spam initiatives, such as the development of a plan for a do-not-email registry, working with other interested groups to help ensure that these initiatives are appropriately targeted at the deceptive and do not unduly impact legitimate businesses.
