Mark Tanzer became CEO of ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents, in 2005. Since then, the organisation has become The Travel Association and merged with the Federation of Tour Operators. ABTA has existed for over 65 years and is the UK’s largest travel association, representing travel agents and tour operators that sell around £32 billion of holidays and other travel arrangements each year; it has 12,000 members. ABTA aims to raise industry standards, provide schemes of financial protection and offer holidaymakers a course of redress if something goes wrong. As CEO, Tanzer is responsible for ABTA’s strategy and direction. Over 16 months of coronavirus-induced restrictions, Tanzer has appeared in the Transport Select Committee and lobbied for steps to be taken to make it easier for travelling to safely resume on behalf of ABTA members. Tanzer previously held senior strategy and corporate finance positions in a number of industry sectors, and was group strategy director of Centrica, the parent company of British Gas and the Automobile Association.
