As part of our ongoing commitment to make sure that your experience on the ATP website is as brilliant as it can be, we're performing some essential maintenance starting at 9am on Monday 18 May.

During this time, the site and all associated functions including email will be unavailable.  If you need to contact us, please email vwolf@abta.co.uk or telephone 020 3117 0549.

We hope to have it back up and running within a couple of days and we'll send everyone an email as soon as we're finished.

There's lots happening on the site over the next few months and as each new bit is added, we'll let you know.

Training For Travel are the latest company to join ATP as corporate members.  At the moment, they have successfully registered and qualified 10 staff members at Gold, which recognises 7 years of travel industry experience along with the relevant qualifications. They still have 39 others awaiting for accreditation which is fantastic news as it shows the wealth of experience Training For Travel have as an organisation.

Beverley Platt, Commercial Director says:
This is a fantastic scheme which we are more than delighted to be involved with. It allows our staff to be recognised for the hard work and years of service they have put in, but also allows an outside set of eyes to see how vocationally competent  our staff base is.

Do The Travel Foundation and ABTA's interactive on-line quiz www.maketravelgreener.com - it'll make you a bit of an expert on all things green in just 30 minutes!  The quiz is an easy and fun way for you to understand what sustainable tourism is all about and it also gives you 3 ATP points towards your professional development.  

Every month anyone getting over 95% in the quiz will be entered in to a prize draw and three lucky winners will receive a fair trade hamper and a maketravelgreener.com mug.  Go on, have a go now and see how you score ...

To find out much more about The Travel Foundation and its work, please visit www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk. 

ATP members are entitled to 10% off the price of the following seminars at ABTA.

Events coming up in June  include :

• Dealing with Complaints - 11 June
• Crisit Management Seminar - Defusing a Crisis - 23 June
• A Beginners Guide to Travel Law - 3 June

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority is running a fantastic competition where you can win a place on a fatastic Fam trip to Abu Dhabi. Don't forget that if you win, you can gain 5 extra ATP points for going on the fam trip and 10 points if you also present or write a report of experiences for your colleague's benefit upon your return.

All you have to do is click here to watch the podcast, then answer the 10 questions on this page (click here).

There are still a few places left on the Overcoming Employment Challenges in Travel and Tourism Conference which takes place in London on 1 June. This is a collaborative event between ABTA, the ITT and the Tourism Society. For more click here.

If you would like to win a bottle of bubbly tell us about any training you have done or any industy events, FAM trips or seminars that you have attended that have impressed you and you're name will be entered in our monthly draw.

Just email your 250 words to Sally Oakey at Travel Uni on sally.oakey@bmipublications.com.  The closing date is 12 June.

ATP members attending the Association of Cruise Experts (ACE) Convention in Dover in June are reminded that they can earn two points for attending the Convention. An extra two points are available for those who have been appointed TTG Roving Reporters at this event.

Vicki Wolf from ATP will be on hand to talk to you about the benefits of joining ATP and having your in-house training mapped so that your staff can earn points for your training. Corporate discounts are available. Chat to Vicki in the Trade Fair about ATP as well as ABTA's other exciting education initiatives.

People 1st's State of the Nation report was launched on Wednesday 13 May. Barbara Follett MP, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries & Tourism spoke at the event held at BAFTA in London. The report is the definitive overview of the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism labour market across the UK.

It looks at how the sector's workforce is changing and recent trends in recruitment, retention, training and skills. It also examines the implications of the recession for the sector, and progress that has been made in terms of management and leadership, chef and customer service skills.

The report includes a summary of key statistics for each of the four UK nations, and provides essential reading for employers, trade bodies, college lecturers, career guidance professionals, human resources/ training managers, students and policy makers. Click here for more information.