A massive congratulations to Paul Hackett who has been elected the new President of the Irish Travel Agent Association (ITAA).
ITTN has been fortunate to interview Paul on many occasions outside of Dáil Éireann and in the lead up to the election, and we have been very aware of his unlimited support to the trade across the country.
We wish Paul and the Board of the ITAA all the best for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022 where we hope to see things change for our industry.
Commiserations to Michael Doorley, a man who has represented the industry spectacularly over his long and illustrious career.
In a statement released shortly after the announcement, ITAA CEO Pat Dawson said, “I would like to wish Paul the very best of luck as he begins his new term as ITAA President. His passion for the industry is evident in the hard work he has put in as a Board Member, particularly throughout the COVID-19 crisis.”
He added: “I also wish to take this opportunity to thank Michael Doorley, our outgoing president, for his service and commitment to the ITAA and to wish him well. Michael has served three previous terms as ITAA President: from 1982 to 1983, when the ITAA negotiated with the Department of Transport to introduce legislation to give consumer protection which is still the cornerstone of travel agents licensing; again from 2002 to 2003; and most recently from 2020 to 2021. Present at the very first meeting of the ITAA, Michael‘s passion for the organisation and our work is clear.”
The ITAA also confirmed that there was an “outstanding” 95 per cent voter turnout for this year’s election, which reflects how important the association is for the industry as it looks to navigate its way out of the worst crisis in its existence.
The counting was overseen by ITAA legal adviser Anne Dolan and ITAA external auditor Richard Boden.
