Protecting students through higher standards of health and safety and duty of care practices
Protecting the funds of our schools and their communities through TAANZ, with fully bonded members
About Us.
COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on global tourism and the ability to travel the world with the freedoms we all took for granted. COVID-19 saw the school travel market thrown into chaos as borders closed and groups started cancelling tours, some only weeks away from departure. Whilst the world of travel is currently paused it presents a great opportunity to ensure that when travel can resume, it can be done safely and with confidence in all respects.
Many schools are taking this time to ensure that they have their student and group travel policy and procedures reviewed and amended to best practice so that they manage risks for the future. The newly updated guidelines released by the Ministry of Education (MOE) strongly recommend the use of a TAANZ financially bonded travel agent when undertaking student group travel. If a school chooses a non-financially bonded company they must receive approval from each family involved in the tour.
TAANZ-bonded travel companies are required to ensure client funds are kept separate from working capital and must submit their financial statements for scrutiny by the TAANZ Bonding Authority every six months as well as providing a cash deposit, or security, in the form of a bond. All client funds are kept entirely separate and cannot be used for operational costs.
To assist schools in regaining confidence, the three leading student group travel companies (Defining Moments, Tour Time and Travel 2 Learn) who have all been TAANZ bonded for many years have formed the Student Travel Collective Inc (STC). These three companies are listed below as our Founding Members.
The STC has been set up to address the two primary concerns of parents (and schools): Is my child safe? Are my funds safe?
For several years our founding members who are TAANZ bonded specialist education travel companies have been communicating with TAANZ and the MOE over their best practice guidelines and the general lack of information in the marketplace about the risks involved in using unbonded companies for domestic and overseas school travel. The impact of COVID-19 was felt far and wide across NZ and the subsequent press coverage saw STC ramp up their efforts to get their collective off the ground. They have consistently been vocal advocates of the financial stability and security provided by operating as a bonded agency and their efforts have earned our utmost respect.
The STC have taken all the challenges and concerns that have been raised from both the parent and school communities and together with the MOE guidelines set out a framework for schools to work from and created a new benchmark for operators in the school group travel market; with the minimum requirement for membership of the STC being that a company be a current TAANZ financially bonded agency. The overriding objective is to ensure schools can have trust and confidence in all aspects of school group travel for the future. They have engaged collectively with TAANZ, Qualmark and TNZ to ensure they have the backing of the tourism market in New Zealand and their persistence to see the MOE stand by their guidelines has now seen a revision of the best practice guidelines, released recently (link below).
Our Founding members
Defining Moments.
Stephen Gillingham
Director - Defining Moments
Defining Moments recognises the financial commitment that students & their families make when signing up for a tour and we want to ensure everyone has the confidence that those funds are protected. Defining Moments is a division of House of Travel Whangarei Limited, part of the House of Travel Group – New Zealand’s largest independently owned company. We are 100% New Zealand owned and operated and a fully bonded member of TAANZ – the Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand Incorporated since 1991.
Our resolute commitment to the safety and well being of the students we send on tour creates the safe environment that allows students to engage with other cultures in a genuine and equal way.
Tour Time.
Brent Imrie
Director Tour Time
Tour Time is a 100% family owned, full service tour operator that has been creating safe and shared transformative experiences in global destinations for over 29 years.
A sense of certainty when travelling is worth its weight in gold…. As a fully bonded member of TAANZ, this is why Tour Time spearheaded the School Travel Collective to reset the school travel industry and help restore confidence in the sector once more by joining forces with other TAANZ Bonded companies to offer the solution to the two questions schools and parents ask: is my child safe, and are my funds safe?
Tour Time have offices in Auckland, Sydney, Gold Coast and the USA. We specialise in Sports, Music/Performing Arts and educational tours both domestic and international for New Zealand and Australian schools.
Travel to Learn.
Steve Lee & Fiona Atkinson
Directors Travel to Learn
Travel to Learn is a sub brand of NZ Travel Brokers. All of our travel consultants that make bookings are IATA accredited and are bonded members of TAANZ, The New Zealand Travel Agents Association, through NZ Travel Brokers. This ensures your financial security through a Bond and Trust accounting system, and requires that all money is paid directly in to the NZ Travel Brokers trust account. Funds received for a trip can only be used to pay for that trip and full payment is not paid to suppliers until required, generally 90 days before departure.
Travel to Learn has over 15 years experience in organising overseas educational trips for students from Europe and New Zealand. Travel to Learn brings together experience in both travel and education together with the understanding of the importance of overseas study trips for learners both educationally and socially.