Recently, I had an opportunity to attend a meeting organized by some of the leading inbound tour operating companies in Male’ to discuss the existence and the role of MATATO (Maldives Association for Travel Agents and Tour Operators). Some interesting comments including frustrations among current members were shard in the meeting.

Below is an email comment I shared with the attendees – following the meeting and after learning the position of MATATO from its member’s perspective.

Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2008 6:38 PM

“Dear All,

First of all let me thank you for inviting me to this very important meeting – as always it was wonderful to see you all and have a chat.

Like all of you I am concerned about the way things are going in the tourism sector and how a very important part of the Industry “the Inbound Tour Operators and Travel Agents” are disused by the industry and the system in large. These are exciting times in our country and ahead are challenging times for the Industry if not handled carefully. I think that what is important in this important juncture of our developing country is to involve people, involve all of them be it in business, social or political affairs. It will not be fair to have just one president for life who is running an organization that is formed to listen, voice and represent all of you.

I believe that MATATO should remain as a trade association offering representation for the interests of Inbound Tour Operators, Wholesalers, Travel Agents and other related partners. My vision for MATATO would be “total involvement” of its members and stakeholders. A sample model could be as below:

MATATO Objectives/Aims and Article of Association should be made public and shared with its members. This information should reveal MATATOs’ legal weight be it as a NGO, a Trade Body or a Limited Company without share capital.

MATATO Secretariat – should be responsible for the day-to-day running of the association with a full-time job and office space provided in Male’.

MATATO Members – as discussed for members you could have different tiers with different benefit packages – however this differentiation shall not hinder a members willingness to involve and have a say in the operation and effectiveness of MATATO.

MATAO Internal Committees – theses internal committees shall ensure “total involvement” of all its members and have their say in related areas of concern. This will allow all members to be part of the bigger picture and their voice heard as necessary. This will also allow implementing member tiers more effectively and increasing the level of services and offerings against what they get out of the Membership. Such committees could be selected based on expertise, membership levels, and royalty offerings or simply by a voting system amongst popular.

A suggested committee line could be as follows;

Steering Committee – responsible for overseeing all MATATO practices and finances – this committee shall meet at least quarterly or as directed by the Article of Association to ensure that the Association is running and the Secretariat is doing his/her job. It shall be the responsibility of The Secretariat to provide monthly reports (print or email format) to the Steering Committee for them to review/comment and shared with other sub committees where necessary and appropriate. All the sub committees shall discuss proposals and suggestions with Steering Committee before forwarding to The Secretariat for necessary actions.

Membership and Branding Committee – responsible for encouraging memberships, sales of membership and the complete branding of MATATO. This committee shall also assist MATATO members in relation to brand association and marketing of the individual members where appropriate and necessary.

Exhibitions and International Relations Committee – responsible for researching and ruling appropriate travel/trade fairs, international bodies or organizations for MATATO and its members and organizing the participation of MATATO and its members in the aforementioned fairs and with international bodies. This committee shall also be responsible for creating a trade and international channel database that could be used by MATATO members for promotional purposes.

Price Parity and Ecommerce Committee – responsible to monitor price competition in the market and ensure price parity is maintained in order to create a competitive and fair trading environment for MATATO members and industry in large. This committee shall also be responsible for discovering internet channels for MATATO members and discussing issues related to online trading and distribution, and the implications of Governing Laws as appropriate by International and Local standards.

Plus many other Committees..to ensure “total involvement” of its members and to focus on areas of interest and importance to MATATO, its members and the Industry in large.

That’s it from me for now – as always it will be a pleasure to extend my support in anyway I can.

Best wishes,

Nabeel ”

I am sure if we all speak up we could come up with extraordinary results for all of us – so why not share your thoughts by commenting here.