The New South Wales (NSW) Chamber (Tourism Industry division) and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council have joined together to commit to the Australian Tourism Accreditation Program (ATAP).All Australian states will now provide a uniform, online business accreditation program to give businesses the opportunity to gain certification and help them grow across the visitor economy.Accreditation will provide customers with the guarantee that participating tourism enterprises are dedicated to professional business operations and delivery of service, and partake in good business practices.NSW Business Chamber executive manager tourism Dean Gorddard said the program is a valuable tool for Australian businesses.“ATAP is a practical business development process that complements our role at the NSW Business Chamber in providing SME’s (small and medium-sized enterprises) with the tools to achieve market competitiveness and forge customer loyalty and repeat business,” Mr Gorddard said.Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said the program supports both tourists and business operators in Australia.“In an age of peer to peer reviews which arguably provide consumers with a subjective commentary, we believe it is important to provide a balanced approach in Queensland to inform our visitors and support our tourism operators in making qualified choices,” Mr Gschwind said.ATAP is the only program to provide accreditation for all types of businesses operating in the visitor economy, including boutique accommodation, cafés, zoos and retail shops.This new partnership enables Queensland and NSW operators to join over 4,000 accredited tourism businesses within Australia.ATAP has been compared to New Zealand’s successful accreditation program, Qualmark, which provides endorsed businesses with an average of four times more direct leads from the national tourism organisation.Source = ETB Travel News: Brittney Levinson read more