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| Wednesday, 19 September 2012 |
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| TICO HOSTS AGM | ||||||||
| Language of TICO campaign & compensation fund highlight meeting | ||||||||
| Jovana Arnaut | ||||||||
The campaign includes words ending in ‘tico,’ such as fantastico and romantico, accompanied by images of travel destinations and activities. The ads are designed to attract the travel trade industry as well as consumers; highlight the protection registered Ontario travel agents offer consumers under Ontario legislation; and raise awareness of the benefits that TICO provides registered travel businesses and their travel agents. “TICO, as the self-managing, not-for-profit authority responsible for administering and enforcing travel legislation in Ontario, offers a win-win for consumers and the travel industry alike,” said Michael Pepper, TICO’s president and CEO.
The Language of TICO ads will appear in select travel industry publications throughout the fall, and a marketing toolkit for registrants will also be available including a glossary of terms for the TICO language, newspaper templates and email attachments. The new campaign was the highlight of yesterday’s meeting; however, other topics were reviewed including the compensation fund contribution rate increase. “The board of directors is responsible to ensure that the compensation fund is adequately financed to protect consumers,” said Michael Janigan, chair, TICO board of directors. “If you look at the TICO business plan, you will note that TICO is projecting that a compensation fund contribution rate increase will be necessary in the next year. TICO will of course be consulting with registrants about the proposed increase as is required by our fee setting process.” Janigan said that the rate increase would be imposed gradually over the next three years to 15 cents per $1,000 as of April 1, 2013; 25 cents per $1,000 as of April 1, 2014; and 30 cents per $1,000 as of April 1, 2015. He said that if the fund balance is higher than projected in 2014 and 2015, the board may decide not to implement the rate increase in those years.
In a recent press release, ACTA said that although it acknowledges the burden of fee increases for review engagements, it is an important step towards consumer protection. “ACTA and the ACTA ON council feel that if the proposed motion is passed it would open the province up to a higher number of claims to the compensation fund and offer up the temptation to ‘hold on to’ a business that is not financially viable, ultimately, allowing consumers’ funds to be used in support of ‘risky’ business. This means TICO would be forced to have more reviews of agencies and require more staff to conduct these inspections resulting in higher TICO operational costs,” the statement said. “ACTA is working on an action plan to reduce the costs of annual review engagements for its members by publishing tips on being ready, as well as negotiating with a short list of licensed public accountants that can specialize in travel agencies and lower costs.” The 2012 annual report was also outlined during TICO’s AGM which stated that from 2011-2012 there were 290 consumer complaints against registrants; 346 were resolved, including 58 from the previous year, and over $82,000 was given in restitution. Also, there were 45 laid charges and 26 convictions. As for the financials, TICO’s revenue has increased by 10 per cent to approximately $3.5 million. Also discussed was the board of directors for 2012-2013, with Jim Diebel being elected for a two-year term by acclamation. Retiring board members are Denise Heffron, vice president, national sales and commercial, Transat Tours Canada Inc.; Mike Foster, president, Uniglobe Instant Travel; and Kathleen Warren, CTM, Allison’s Travel Agency Ltd. For more information on TICO’s new campaign, and to watch the AGM online, visit tico.ca. |
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