106 firms fail to meet ATOL renewal deadline
The latest renewal of Air Travel Organisers’ Licences (ATOLs) has seen 106 firms fail to get their licences granted.
The September deadline set by the Civil Aviation Authority saw almost 1,400 of the 2,400 licences come up for renewal. The remainder are in force until March 2006.
The CAA said 99% of the firms that had provided supporting information had been given a decision, and 93% of these had been granted new licences.
ATOL licensing manager Andy Cohen said: “This was an excellent result as the overall number of ATOL holders has grown significantly during the past year. Consequently, this renewal was 20% larger than a year ago.
“Although the numbers of firms failing to renew by the deadline was slightly higher, this was anticipated given the number of firms renewing for the first time.
“Almost 75% of the firms failing to renew on time fell into the Small Business ATOL category for organisers who carry less than 500 passengers year. ATOL often represents a small portion of their overall business, or their tour operating is seasonal, so renewing on time is less crucial.
“However, we expect the majority of firms that failed to renew on time to do so in early October.”
He added: “Each time a number of firms decide not to renew their licences and this is a crude measure of the strength of the ATOL market. This time the drop-out rate was 4%, similar to that in September 2004.
“This, together with the increase in overall ATOL numbers, underlines the resilience of the industry. Overall, we found that licence holders were positive about the coming year.”
*The list of the ATOLs that have not been renewed is on the CAA website at www.atol.org.uk
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025