UHPA: Thirty-Six Agencies Received ISO 9001:2008 Certificate

Thirty-six travel agencies, members of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), successfully introduced the international ISO 9001:2008 quality management system in 2014. It is the most widespread and most recognized standard of quality and allows travel agencies to better understand and follow the needs of clients, achieve a higher degree of customer satisfaction and trust, as well as increase their productivity and efficiency. The project was supported by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia; Ivo Bašić, Advisor to the Minister of Tourism, was also at the award ceremony which took place on 11 September 2015 and presented each agency with the certificate. He emphasized the role of travel agencies in the pursuit of quality and sustainable development of Croatian tourism: “The Ministry of Tourism entirely supports and will continue to support projects which have as a purpose the improvement of services and socially-responsible business. This is why I am thankful to UHPA for carrying out the international certification of business quality. This professionalizes the work of travel agencies in Croatia and also increases the competitiveness of Croatia as a tourist destination. Good results are certainly a success for all employed in tourism, and employees of travel agencies and tour operators are often the first contact that tourists have with an individual country, which means that their professionalism and quality work are key in tourism.”

Thirty-six travel agencies, members of the Association of Croatian Travel Agencies (UHPA), successfully introduced the international ISO 9001:2008 quality management system in 2014. It is the most widespread and most recognized standard of quality and allows travel agencies to better understand and follow the needs of clients, achieve a higher degree of customer satisfaction and trust, as well as increase their productivity and efficiency.

The project was supported by the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Croatia; Ivo Bašić, Advisor to the Minister of Tourism, was also at the award ceremony which took place on 11 September 2015 and presented each agency with the certificate. He emphasized the role of travel agencies in the pursuit of quality and sustainable development of Croatian tourism: “The Ministry of Tourism entirely supports and will continue to support projects which have as a purpose the improvement of services and socially-responsible business. This is why I am thankful to UHPA for carrying out the international certification of business quality. This professionalizes the work of travel agencies in Croatia and also increases the competitiveness of Croatia as a tourist destination. Good results are certainly a success for all employed in tourism, and employees of travel agencies and tour operators are often the first contact that tourists have with an individual country, which means that their professionalism and quality work are key in tourism.”

The President of UHPA, Boris Žgomba, greeted the present members and guests: “By introducing the ISO 9001:2008 quality management system the members of UHPA proved their quality business philosophy to the international market. By doing this they have taken the responsibility of providing a high level of service and constantly improving their business processes. I am glad that they recognized the importance of ISO certification and decided to be certified through the Association. These standards of quality benefit us all, improve our business practices and increase the competitiveness of Croatia as destination. We’ve set high standards which I hope will be a motive for future work and development.”

UHPA started the project of ISO certification in 2012 and it resulted with the certification of the first group of members in 2014 and a second group in 2015. The certification was carried out by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance, and its representative, Veljko Mahmet, greeted the members by emphasizing that the ISO 9001:2008 quality management system is a tool used by top management to successfully run an organization for the benefit of all its stakeholders and especially customers: “The certificate is very important because it represents a formal confirmation of good organization, consistency and efficiency of all business practices, especially those directed at the customer who is always at the centre of attention at all functions and levels of the organization. This is the difference between those organizations which have the certificate and those which haven’t. The market recognizes this more and more and the certificate represents the first filter in the selection of a provider. In many industries the first condition for cooperation is for the organization to function on the principles and criteria of ISO 9001. If this is not the case this organization has no chance of becoming a provider for any serious buyer, especially in the international market.”

In the last three years a total of 75 travel agencies were certified in cooperation with UHPA. They can expect new workshops and lectures on quality, planning and customer satisfaction, as well as sharing experiences and assistance in quality management.

Because of changes in the ISO 9001 system preparations will start this year to synchronize the quality management systems according to the new demands. UHPA will review the efficiency of the system at each of the 75 certified agencies by April 2016 so that they are ready for the new recertification cycle in 2017.

UHPA members that were ISO 9001:2008 certified in 2015: Adriatic4you putnička agencija - Vividus d.o.o., Trogir; Aktivni odmor d. o. o. – croActive Holidays, Split; ALGA travel agency d. o. o., Zagreb; Almissa - Larus d. o. o., Omiš; ARX d. o. o. - AMBER TRAVEL, Kastav; Atlas Rabac d. o. o., Rabac; Autotrans d. o. o., Cres; Compakt, Vukovar; Eklata d. o. o., Split; Elite travel d. o. o., Dubrovnik; Etno art travel - MALO SELO d. o. o., Lopatinec; Feral-tours d. o. o., Zadar; Galileo travel d. o. o., Varaždin; Kontakt tours d. o. o., Zagreb; Lang international d. o. o., Pula; Magellan d. o. o., Split; Mare Panonium tours d. o. o., Vinkovci; Mare tours, Vrbnik; Meridien ten d. o. o., Split; Online Croatia d. o. o., Dubrovnik; PBZ Card d. o. o travel agency, Zagreb; Penta d. o. o., Zagreb, Plautilla d. o. o., Solin, Polet d. o. o., Vinkovci, Polo line d. o. o., Baška; Putokazi putovanja d. o. o., Split; Raftrek travel d. o. o., Zagreb, Shuttle d. o. o.- putnička agencija, Split; Shuttle tours d. o. o., Zadar, Spektar putovanja d. o. o., Zagreb, Spektar tours d. o. o., Split, Sunturist d. o. o., Novalja; Trakostyan tours d. o. o., Varaždinske Toplice; Tureta travel d. o. o., Zagreb; Ventula travel - Uljara Vukšić d. o. o., Solin, VIP travel - JEROME d. o. o., Split.

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