GOGO MUST GO-GO
Richard, a member of the Grassroots Aruban Boycott wrote a letter to GO-GO Travel. After reading what they had to say GO-GO Travel and their management are heartless and only interested in the almighty dollar. DO NOT USE GO-GO TRAVEL.
This is what they had to say:
September 15, 2006
Dear Richard,
Thank you for taking time to address your concerns with Gogo Worldwide Vacations' travel agent convention in Aruba. While we sympathize with your plea to ASTA to encourage members to boycott this event, ASTA maintains its position that "there is no evidence that a travelers' boycott of Aruba will serve the cause of justice", (sic) as previously expressed in the following statement issued December 2005:
The tragic case of Natalie (sic) Holloway is regrettable and saddens us all. Our sincere sympathy goes out to her family and friends. It is our clear desire that the perpetrators of this crime be brought to justice as soon as possible. However, a boycott of travel to Aruba will not solve this crime nor guarantee justice. Rather the people of Aruba will suffer for something that they did not do. Travel is about the freedom of free people to go where and when they want. There is no evidence that a travelers' boycott of Aruba will serve the cause of justice. I appreciate your passion and enthusiasm for upholding ASTA's code of ethics and industry standards.
Sincerely,
/s/ William A. Maloney
CTC Executive Vice President
and COO American Society of Travel Agents
cc: Gilbert Haroche President and CEO, Gogo Worldwide Vacations
Sincerely,
/s/ William A. Maloney
CTC Executive Vice President
and COO American Society of Travel Agents
cc: Gilbert Haroche President and CEO, Gogo Worldwide Vacations
Richard's Response:
September 18, 2006
Mr. William A. Maloney
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
American Society of Travel Agents
1101 King St., Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
Dear Mr. Maloney:
Thank you for your reply of September 15 to my request that ASTA urge its members to shun a travel event that Gogo Worldwide Vacations was arranging in Aruba. I was most heartened to read the December 2005 statement that ASTA extended “sincere sympathy” to the family and friends of Natalee Holloway.
Had the statement managed to spell her name correctly, it might perhaps have had more of the ring of sincerity than it does. Few would quarrel with your statement that “Travel is about the freedom of free people to go where and when they want.” The converse of this statement must also hold true: that people who choose to avoid a locale have the right to do so. Aruba, which has maintained that a tourist boycott is illegal, seems unable to comprehend this idea.
ASTA may care little that the Holloway Twitty family have been insulted for their impudence in seeking to learn their daughter’s fate; that elements of Aruba’s government and law enforcement have since day one conspired to prevent the truth from emerging, presumably to protect certain local individuals and perhaps others; and that reports of drug dealing, assaults and other crimes are routinely suppressed on the “happy island.”
Those of us who see a moral issue in where and how we spend our money, however, care deeply. If the organizations that should champion the interests of Americans abroad see fit to turn their eyes aside, we will protect ourselves. Aruba whines that tourism is down; with no justice for Natalee (please note the spelling), there will be no tourists for Aruba. Nothing but our voluntary boycott could have induced them to seek Dutch assistance.
I appreciate your attention and assistance on this matter. If you want some of the “boycott Aruba” stickers on my envelope, hoping thereby to promote justice in a country that seems indifferent to the very concept, I shall be only too pleased to supply them to you.
Sincerely,
Richard
Mr. William A. Maloney
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
American Society of Travel Agents
1101 King St., Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
Dear Mr. Maloney:
Thank you for your reply of September 15 to my request that ASTA urge its members to shun a travel event that Gogo Worldwide Vacations was arranging in Aruba. I was most heartened to read the December 2005 statement that ASTA extended “sincere sympathy” to the family and friends of Natalee Holloway.
Had the statement managed to spell her name correctly, it might perhaps have had more of the ring of sincerity than it does. Few would quarrel with your statement that “Travel is about the freedom of free people to go where and when they want.” The converse of this statement must also hold true: that people who choose to avoid a locale have the right to do so. Aruba, which has maintained that a tourist boycott is illegal, seems unable to comprehend this idea.
ASTA may care little that the Holloway Twitty family have been insulted for their impudence in seeking to learn their daughter’s fate; that elements of Aruba’s government and law enforcement have since day one conspired to prevent the truth from emerging, presumably to protect certain local individuals and perhaps others; and that reports of drug dealing, assaults and other crimes are routinely suppressed on the “happy island.”
Those of us who see a moral issue in where and how we spend our money, however, care deeply. If the organizations that should champion the interests of Americans abroad see fit to turn their eyes aside, we will protect ourselves. Aruba whines that tourism is down; with no justice for Natalee (please note the spelling), there will be no tourists for Aruba. Nothing but our voluntary boycott could have induced them to seek Dutch assistance.
I appreciate your attention and assistance on this matter. If you want some of the “boycott Aruba” stickers on my envelope, hoping thereby to promote justice in a country that seems indifferent to the very concept, I shall be only too pleased to supply them to you.
Sincerely,
Richard
2 comments:
Natatlee Magnetic stickers made by Michelle draw a lot of attentions in the parking across from the Mall of America. More people are ordering the Natalee Magnetic from Boycott Aruba. It is something the good caring Americans can do for Natalee.
Two things -
1) I know someone who works for Go-Go in Chicago. I should give her a call and tell her she works for a great company. They hit the nail on the head. A boycott will not solve this missing girl case. No corportation should have to bow down to every complaint that any individual would have. What's good for you might not be good for me.
2) After all this time, why is it that the Holloway family could not solve this case. They sure had enough people working on it, and for free. Maybe it is because the three main suspects are in fact innocent?
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