talking shop IN THE NEWS AITO agents have a domestic
BY LAURA GELDER Claimed to be the largest gathering of
truly independent agents and operators in the UK, AITO Specialist Travel Agents domestic conference took place at held at the Chesford Grange Hotel in Warwickshire, last month (January). A record number of 200 delegates
were in attendance at the conference, which included a programme of workshops and a mix of speakers addressing key industry matters. These included Andy Cohen, Manager of ATOL Licensing at the CAA, who updated delegates about the ATOL Reform process, and Lorraine Barnes Burton, CEO of The British Travel Awards, who reflected on what travel agents could learn from the results of the consumer insight survey, TravelVision 2012. Several agents were rewarded for their
efforts throughout the year at the gala dinner, including Staffordshire-based Journeys à la Carte, named the national winner of the AITO All Stars incentive scheme 2011, which recognises AITO agents selling holidays offered by AITO
OUT AND ABOUT
Visit USA visits Britain The Visit USA Association’s popular
roadshow took place over three days late last year, at venues in London, Manchester and Bristol, welcoming over 300 agents through its doors. Entertainment came in the form of
a new energetic act from Britain’s Got Talent and agents won fantastic holiday prizes to Las Vegas, Florida’s Fort Myers & Sanibel and New York. Visit USA is planning another series
operators. Regional winners included, Chester-based Deva Travel and Salisbury- based Traveller’s World. London-based Travel Designers picked up ‘Best Newcomer’ and Oxfordshire-based Full Circle Travel was presented with the ‘Most Improved’ award for its successful sales in 2011. The winners received top prizes from
AITO operators, including holidays to Turkey and Tenerife, a FAM trip place to Russia, a night on the Blue Train in South Africa and a hamper of Japanese food
Pampering the Funway has Benefits
Funway Holidays hosted an exclusive pamper evening at the Benefit Cosmetics Boutique in Covent Garden, this January, in aid of its ‘Makeover Campaign’. After winning an incentive which asked agents to describe why they love Funway Holidays in 20 words, the travel agents whose answers were in the top 20 were
invited to the night of pampering. Event organiser Claire Campbell,
Marketing Executive for Funway Holidays said: “The inspiration for the event follows Funway’s very own recent makeover, complete with logo and brochure redesign. We wanted a fun event to thank all the travel agents.”
and drinks from InsideJapan Tours. The live final of the AITO Agents’ Mastermind Challenge 2011 competition also took place at the conference and Melanie Sallis of Journeys à la Carte was awarded as the travel-savvy AITO agent, winning a holiday for two in a four-star hotel in Barcelona. AITO announced it will launch a new
glossy consumer travel magazine for exclusive, free distribution by AITO agents members, edited by the award- winning travel journalist, David Wickers.
of roadshows in 2012, its 6th year. To date, they have covered 15 cities across the UK and have met with over 1,000 travel agents!
www.visitusa.org.uk
Kuoni Winchester Opens This January, luxury travel
brand Kuoni celebrated the opening of its 19th boutique travel store in Winchester. The new, Indian-themed store situated on the High Street has created five new jobs in the area and opened its doors to the public just days before Christmas and is staffed by Store Manager Marianne Hayward- Pinney, Assistant Store Manager Jade Parsons, Amy Biddlecombe, Natalie Mills and Mike Good. The team has over 25 years’ experience between them in the travel industry. A celebratory party sponsored by
Jet Airways to officially open the store in January was attended by the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Winchester, Councillor Frank Pearson and Mrs Anne Pearson.
www.kuoni.co.uk
Agents on tour: Read the Greanada Fam Trip Report 2012
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