AFTA chief resigns after lashing out at TV host
The chief of Australia’s main trade group for travel agents has been forced to resign following a barrage of complaints over ‘inappropriate’ comments.
Australian Federation of Travel Agents Jayson Westbury received widespread criticism for comments made during a webinar.
He called out ‘A Current Affair’ TV programme host Tracy Grimshaw after a TV segment was critical of the industry’s failure to refund customers.
During the webinar Westbury said: "I think that Tracy Grimshaw needs to be given a firm uppercut or a slap across the face, and I mean that virtually, of course, I wouldn’t want to invoke any violence on anyone."
"His choice of words cannot be condoned," said AFTA chairman Tom Manwaring, announcing Westbury’s ousting.
Following a backlash from all sides, Westbury issued an apology.
"My comments relating to Ms Grimshaw involved a very poor choice of words. I apologise for that choice and accept the language used was completely inappropriate."
However that wasn’t enough to save his job, with AFTA announcing his resignation a day later.
TV presenter Grimshaw later responded: "I think he could have chosen better words couldn’t he? You can’t get away with that stuff. It’s bad behaviour, it’s bad language and you can’t talk that way about women. And the sooner blokes like Jayson Westbury realise that, the better."
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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