NEWS — HOT STORIES 2
Tui sets up Thomson Tickets to bring add-ons in-house
Lee Hayhurst
Thomson has extended its strategy of bringing product supply in-house to the tickets and attractions sector by setting up its own supplier. Thomson Tickets started
operating last month as part of parent Tui Travel’s Spain-based Hotelbeds wholesaler division. Thomson Tickets will provide competition for the multiple’s current sole specialist third-party tickets supplier, Attraction World. A Thomson spokesman said: “Thomson has sold many products alongside those provided by third party suppliers for a number of years. Thomson Tickets is intended to utilise the services of our in-house businesses where it makes sense to do so, alongside our third-party suppliers.” Tony Seaman, group sales and
marketing director at Attraction World, said the move was not a shock and had been expected. He said although Attraction
World had quadrupled Thomson’s attractions business over the past six years, the supplier had diversified to make sure it was not over-reliant on Thomson.
Seaman said the travel giant
currently accounted for about 12% of Attraction World’s business, a proportion that was declining. “Thomson has always been very clear they don’t particularly like having an exclusive supplier,” he said. “This is something we have seen coming, and been planning for, for eight years.” It is understood Thomson Tickets’ trade call centre is based in Palma, Majorca, and certain Thomson regions have been directed to prioritise the supplier in trials. Attraction World will
remain an option for agents to book alongside Thomson Tickets. Seaman was confident
Attraction World would be able to compete in what is a complex sector in terms of technology and customer service. He claimed a similar move by First Choice prior to the Thomson merger saw its attractions business slump 90% due to operational challenges.
3
Classic Collection’s Melissa Camp receives her award from Lucy Huxley (left),
Travel Weekly; Trudie Drake, Abta; and Valerie Heal (right)
Abta LifeLine awards first bursary in Heal’s memory
Juliet Dennis
A Classic Collection business trainee is the first recipient of the Abta LifeLine bursary in memory of industry veteran Colin Heal, who died last year. Melissa Camp, who works four days a week for the operator and studies one day a week towards a business management degree at the University of Chichester, will have her next year’s degree fees paid for by the bursary. Melissa was 19 when she was left to look after her brother Stuart, 15, following the sudden death of their father Pete from lung cancer in April this year. She moved her brother, who suffers from Asperger syndrome, from their home in Peacehaven, East Sussex, to her then boyfriend’s family home nearby. With debts mounting, she considered giving up her degree to work full-time to cover her and her brother’s
food and rent bills. “My brother was my number-one priority and I ended up being his sole carer. But I was getting in a lot of debt,” said Melissa, now 20.
After applying to Abta LifeLine, Melissa was chosen to
receive the first bursary named after Heal, former Worldchoice chairman and vice-chairman of Abta LifeLine. The annual bursary awards up to £2,000 for up to three years
towards career development, and is supported by Travel Weekly. Abta LifeLine also awarded Melissa a financial hardship grant of £1,000. She said: “I actually cried when they told me. It was a massive weight off my mind and will help me get back on my feet. It’s only recently I’ve been able to grieve,” added Melissa. Trudie Drake, director of Abta LifeLine, said: “The board felt Melissa
was a very worthy recipient. It was clear if we didn’t step in she would have to quit her education.”
16 October 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 5
“I cried
when they told me. It was a
massive weight off my mind”
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