Australia’s travel industry has taken another significant step towards speaking with one stronger, more influential voice, following the successful approval of the long-awaited merger between the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) and the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO).
In a move that many industry leaders have described as both logical and overdue, members of both organisations have now voted overwhelmingly in favour of the merger, paving the way for a new era of collaboration across Australia’s travel sector.
Following CATO’s approval at its Extraordinary General Meeting on 10 June, ATIA members this morning confirmed their support at the association’s General Meeting, formally giving the green light to the landmark union.
From 1 July 2026, CATO will become the Council of Australian Tour Operators Division within ATIA, creating what many believe will be the most representative and influential peak travel body Australia has ever seen.
For an industry that has spent years rebuilding, reinventing and occasionally wrestling with its own complexities, the merger represents something refreshingly simple: less duplication, greater advocacy and a louder collective voice.
As anyone who has sat through one too many industry meetings knows, having three committees discussing the same issue rarely makes it disappear faster.
Instead, the merger brings together travel agents, wholesalers, tour operators, travel management companies and land suppliers under one umbrella, while preserving CATO’s identity through constitutional protections.
Importantly, the new division cannot be dissolved without approval from both CATO and ATIA members, ensuring the sector’s specialist representation remains firmly protected.
The merger also delivers immediate practical benefits.
Dual members will move to a streamlined structure featuring one membership, one accreditation program and a single member portal. Existing CATO funds will cover the first full year of ATIA membership for CATO members in FY28 across tiers one to four.
The popular CATO events calendar will continue for at least two years, while the highly regarded Touring Academy gains access to ATIA’s broader membership network, creating new opportunities for education, professional development and industry engagement.
A dedicated Director-level land supply leadership role will also be established within ATIA, ensuring the touring and land supply sectors retain a strong voice at the highest levels of industry representation.
ATIA Chair Christian Hunter described the vote as the completion of a long-term strategy designed to ensure every major sector of the travel industry has meaningful representation.
“When we launched Project A30, we made a commitment that every segment of this industry would have structured, meaningful representation within ATIA. We delivered that for travel management companies through our merger with ATMC. We delivered it for independent agents through the launch of ITAA. Today, with CATO members voting yes and our own members confirming that outcome, we deliver it for Australia’s tour operators and land supply sector. The picture is now complete.”
Hunter said a larger, more representative organisation would strengthen advocacy efforts and better support members through future challenges.
“A stronger, more representative ATIA is better placed to do everything we exist to do: advocate harder, accredit more rigorously, support members through disruption and build the kind of industry profile that attracts the next generation of travel professionals.”
He added: “On behalf of ATIA, we welcome CATO into the ATIA family, and we thank Dennis, the CATO board and team for all the work that has happened behind the scenes as well as the CATO members for taking the time to listen to the rationale for the merger.”
For CATO Chair Dennis Bunnik, the result marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter rather than the end of an old one.
“The industry has spoken, and I could not be more proud of where we have landed,” Bunnik said.
He emphasised that CATO’s identity, culture and specialist expertise would remain intact.
“CATO has built something genuinely special over many years: a tight-knit community, a dedicated events program, deep sector expertise and an independent voice that has always punched above its weight. None of that goes anywhere.”
Bunnik noted that the merger gives tour operators access to ATIA’s advocacy strength, government relationships and national infrastructure while preserving CATO’s independence.
“It has been a privilege to chair CATO through this process and I along with the CATO Board are delighted with the outcome which we know is in the best interests of our members and the Travel Sector.”
For an industry that thrives on connection, collaboration and confidence, the ATIA-CATO merger may turn out to be one of the most important structural changes Australian travel has seen in more than a decade.
The message from members was clear: united, the industry stands stronger.
By: Michelle Warner – © 2026.
Read Time: 3 Minutes.
About the Author.
Michelle Warner has always carried stories the way others carry passports lightly, faithfully, and with purpose. She learned her craft in newsrooms, shaping sentences with care, before swapping deadlines for departures as a flight attendant with some of the world’s great airlines. Years aloft sharpened her eye for character and deepened her fondness for the small, dignified rituals of travel, the quiet kindness of strangers, the poetry of arrival, the patience learned between time zones.
Now grounded by choice, Michelle has come home to writing with the same calm authority she once brought to turbulent cabins. Her prose blends an editor’s discipline with a traveller’s wonder, tinged with humour and reverence for the golden age of travel. Each piece feels like a handwritten boarding pass, gracious, observant, and unmistakably alive.
