Читать книгу Start & Run a Tour Guiding Business - Barbara Braidwood Susan Boyce & Richard Cropp - Страница 40

In the United States, the accreditation bodies you need to be concerned with are the International Airlines Travel Agent Network (IATAN) and the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC). In Canada and the rest of the world, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Bank Settlement Plan (BSP) are the major players in accreditation. None of these are government agencies.

In Canada, an IATA appointment automatically means you are accepted by BSP. In the United States, an accreditation by IATAN does not mean acceptance by ARC. A separate application must be made to ARC, which has its own stringent requirements.

Although you do not need to be accredited by IATA/BSP or IATAN/ARC to be a tour operator, an appointment means your company may issue tickets for many of the association’s member airlines and participate in the money settlement plans ARC and BSP provide. Companies appointed by IATA, ARC, and IATAN must meet minimum financial, security, and experience criteria.

As the names imply, IATA, ARC, and IATAN are concerned only with air transport. They have no bearing on cruises, hotels, or car rentals. (IATA, BSP, IATAN, and ARC are discussed at more length in chapters 11 and 15.)