25 JAN 2018: – Tim Croyle, vice president, WestJet Vacations, has been appointed the new chairman of the Canadian Association of Tour Operators (CATO) for 2018-2019.  Brett Walker, general manager Canada, Collette, has been appointed as vice chair for the 2018-2019 term.

Croyle follows Jeff Element, President, The Travel Corporation, whose term as chair ended last month.

“I am honoured to be taking on the role of CATO chair, to carry on the great work done by Jeff Element for all our members“, said Croyle. “CATO works diligently on behalf of all outbound tour operators in Canada, large and small, representing their interests to all levels of government at home and abroad.”

Currently, CATO is actively involved in representing tour operator interests in the following:

•    The review and changes to the Ontario Travel Industry Act and Regulations

•    Co-operation with IATA and ACTA in developing credit card fraud prevention through the Canadian Travel Fraud Prevention Group, and FraudChasers, a global online fraud information-sharing platform.

•    Facilitating discussions on weather and health concerns impacting the industry and coordinating with relevant government agencies and foreign governments.

CATO annually appoints three representatives to the TICO Board of Directors (Travel Industry Council of Ontario) and maintains contacts with ATOQ (Quebec), USTOA and NTA.