Membership requirements
Our members range from Specialist School Travel Members and Corporate Travel Members through to smaller specialist operators, who all agree to follow Ministry of Education (MoE) Best Practice Guidelines; and promote these best practice guidelines to help ensure a sustainable and resilient School Travel sector.
To become a member of STC it is mandatory to be a Fully Bonded Member of TAANZ (Travel Agents Association of New Zealand), which is the bonding authority in New Zealand. All TAANZ members are required to meet strict membership and financial criteria and be subject to at least two financial reviews each year by the TAANZ Bonding Authority. All members participate in the TAANZ Bonding Scheme for the protection of the consumer.
Members will also be required to become members of Qualmark as part of the School Travel Sector specific accreditation that has been developed to become a full member of the School Travel Collective.
STC Members must adhere to the following Code of Conduct:
These rules are binding on all School Travel Collective members and are designed to complement our Constitution, Membership Criteria and practises to underpin our goal of delivering the highest standards of professional, legal and ethical behaviour, which ultimately will deliver on our collective goal for the School Travel Collective members to be the entrusted service providers of choice for New Zealand Schools.
As a member of STC you must always:
Conduct yourself with the utmost professional and personal integrity and accountability, consistent with the highest recognised ethical standards
Commit to operating your business in accordance with the STC principles, values, rules and procedures in a manner that does not damage the reputation of STC or our supplier partners
Maintain and promote the rules and reputation of TAANZ as the organisation that represents professional, trustworthy, qualified, financially sound bonded travel brokers and consultants
Treat your customers interests as paramount; ascertain all pertinent facts concerning every tour, transportation, accommodation facility, or other travel service being offered and show respect, consideration and courtesy
Exercise the highest degree of skill, care and diligence in every transaction, ensuring confidentiality and protecting against dishonesty, fraud, misrepresentation and unethical practises in your own business and the wider industry
Honour and fulfil all the terms and conditions established in your dealings with our supplier partners, recognising that these commercial relationships are sacrosanct and must, therefore, be nurtured and managed with great care
Demonstrate good character and provide the opportunity for others to benefit from your expertise, experience and wisdom
Respect the professional and personal reputation of all others and not do anything which brings disrepute or is inconsistent with accepted ideals and standards
Adopt a philosophy of continuing professional development such as STC Meetings & other training opportunities and keep yourself fully informed on all aspects of school travel and associated services to give your customers truly professional advice
Interact with courtesy and respect of other Members, Partners & Suppliers, always with a constructive and conciliatory motive and a commitment to resolving issues amicably and expediently
Members will be at compete with one another using all lawful means and must not enter into any anti-competitive arrangement. However, all Members will market and otherwise conduct themselves in an honest and reputable manner that upholds the good reputation of the school tour and travel industry.
Recognise the importance and practicality of growing STC through gaining market share from other channels rather than from within our group
Actively support and encourage diversity and sustainability in the workplace and the community supporting initiatives such as World Animal Protection and other responsible tourism programmes
Advocate for the STC community as the leading School Travel service provider in New Zealand and an excellent vocation for the next generation and beyond
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress and working together is success” - Henry Ford
TAANZ
TAANZ works with its members to promote a Code of Ethics and Practice, and to stimulate, encourage and promote the desire to travel. TAANZ also work with ServiceIQ to train staff in the skills required for the 21st century – customer relations, selling skills, ecommerce, new technology, the law and the travel industry.
All members must meet strict membership and financial criteria and be subject to at least two financial reviews each year by the TAANZ Bonding Authority. All members participate in the TAANZ Bonding Scheme for the protection of the consumer.
As a TAANZ member you actively engage in training, standards, qualifications and maintain a high level of professionalism. Your TAANZ accreditation is an important industry standard that non TAANZ members do not meet.
Qualmark
Qualmark is the official quality assurance organisation of Tourism New Zealand with over 1800 companies choosing to be endorsed across New Zealand from Accommodation, visitor activities, service and transport providers along with the inbound tour operators as the trusted guide to ensure quality travel experiences. A Qualmark endorsed business is achieved by having your business independently assessed under the four categories of Economic (TAANZ), Social & People, Environment & Culture with Health, Safety and Wellness (NZ Worksafe) being the final category that is assessed. Qualmark will work with all STC members independently to provide key insights and learnings from Tourism New Zealand to ensure that your business remains up to date with the latest changes within the overall standards of Qualmark around COVID readiness and developments in the Qualmark sector with specific focus on being a school travel provider and the additional Health & Safety protocols that we require.
NZ WorkSafe
NZ Work Safe supply sector specific health and safety expertise around EOTC trip management. NZ Work Safe currently works in the schools market to provide schools with Safety Seek; their cloud based Health & Safety System. SafetySeek help manage schools day to day H&S needs, and connected to SafetySeek is Trip Planner which is designed to make trip planning / approval and the planning process as paperless as possible. NZ Work Safe are only involved in the setup, training and support of the system. Both Safety Seek & Trip Planner have been given the endorsement of Education Outdoors New Zealand (EONZ).
Membership benefits.
Benefits include:
Influence: STC is recognised as the benchmark for safety and quality in educational travel by Schools, Teachers and Outdoor Educational Advisors
Health & Safety: We help companies to implement and maintain robust and effective Global standard health and safety management systems
Knowledge: Shared information and resources keeps our members at the forefront of global industry developments and enhancements
Lobbying: We lobby on behalf of the members in all areas of student travel and outdoor education.
Membership enquiry.
Please complete the below form and we will be in touch