EDITOR’S COMMENTS
NEWS Hot Stories
04 – Green departure shock; trade hopes for APD cut for kids; PTD should create ‘level playing field’; Freedom sets up trust account; The Sun sets up holiday deal platform
News Digest
08 – Just a Drop raises £18k; BA to sell rail packages; ITE restructures; Hays comp trends for two days
Special Report 10 – Why did Green leave now?
Conference Report
12 – Aito Conference in Istanbul 16 – Freedom and CoPTA Conference 18 – Tui Smile Awards winners
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Product News 21 – Hurtigruten offers 25% rate
Operator News 22 – Cook sells G Adventures tours
Hotel News 24 – Sandals to invest $100m
Operator News 26 – Gold Medal unveils brochures
Cruise News
28 – Celebrity sails from Abu Dhabi 30 – Hapag-Lloyd pushes Europa 2
ALL ABOUT YOU
Letters 34 – Harriet Green; Midcounties £25
Comment 36 – Nikki White: tourism’s value
All For You 37 – Win £10,000 in MAG incentive
Readers’ Lives 40 – Karen Simmonds
Mystery Shopper 42 – Ipswich agents set ski test
DESTINATIONS Caribbean
45 – Singles can enjoy the Caribbean as much as couples 51 – Dom Rep: spend, save, splurge
Latin America
55 – Discover natural beauty and cultural complexity in Guatemala 59 – Machu Picchu for everyone
JOBS AND CLASSIFIED
63 – Vacancies and business services TRAVELWEEKLY BUSINESS
News
70 – Ryanair reveals aim to ‘reclaim’ customers: three-page report from the Travolution Summit 2014
Cover photo: At the Aito conference in Istanbul are, from left: Joseph Grimley, Riviera Travel; Amrit Singh, TransIndus; Kate Kenward, Aito; Derek Moore, Aito; Gemma Antrobus, Aito Specialist Travel Agents; and Noel Josephides, Sunvil and Abta
LUCY Editor-in-chief HUXLEY
Green cut costs but failed to grow Cook
I
f I had a pound for everyone who asked me why Harriet Green had left Thomas Cook so suddenly, I’d be a very rich lady! The announcement was made last Wednesday morning as
we were gathering some of the most senior leaders in the industry for our Travel Weekly Business Breakfast to launch our Travel Weekly Insight Annual Report 2014. Green’s departure was the talk of the pre-session coffee and networking – and I think I heard every single conspiracy theory on why she had gone. Everyone there was expecting her to leave next year. No one guessed it would be last week. But gone she has, and whatever your view, you’d be
hard-pushed to argue that she didn’t do a good job in cutting costs and restoring the company’s reputation in the City. However, what she didn’t do, according to delegates at our
Breakfast last week, was improve trading sufficiently. That job is now left to Peter Fankhauser – a leader with a
reputation in turning around other parts of Thomas Cook and, before that, Kuoni. People seemed pleased – relieved even – that someone with industry experience is now at the helm (although it’s worth noting that he is still supported by a raft of people Green brought in from her electronics past). He is at least a travel man. In two-and-a-half years, Green
never got involved in the industry – attending countless awards ceremonies to collect personal accolades, but speaking at only one travel event, one of our Breakfasts. Cook is still one of the best brands out there. Green got the company out of intensive care for sure – and the potential for it to thrive is still huge.
lucy.huxley@
travelweekly.co.uk WHAT LUCY DID THISWEEK 1
2 3
Enjoyed singing my first Christmas carols of the year with Lynn Narraway and team from Hal/ Seabourn at the AWTE annual festive lunch
Celebrated true innovation and brilliance in digital travel at our 2014 Travolution Awards
Treated my kids to a great day at the Brick 2014 show, thanks to MSC Cruises and its fab Lego tie-up
4 December 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 3
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