Carnival Australia says it is time to sit down and find a solution that will fill consumer confidence if plans to “abolish” the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF) continue.  

A draft transition plan unveiled by the Consumer Affairs Ministers earlier this year suggested that the TCF would be phased out in favour of a new compensation group relevant to today’s market.

However, with talks still in progress regarding the future of the industry, Ms Sherry said concern was growing about the risk to public confidence in agents, if a suitable “compensation mechanism is not found to replace the TCF”.

According to the operator, without an appropriate replacement travellers could be left with limited protection and reduced faith in consultants across the country.

“It’s no secret the current TCF arrangement is onerous for travel agents so it’s timely to sit down and find a mechanism that addresses the current challenges and properly balances consumer risk,” Ms Sherry said.

Carnival Australia is hosting talks with key travel agent partners and the Australian Federation of Travel Agents this week to discuss a plan, ahead of a state and federal meeting to review the Draft Plan on 7 December this year.