NEWS — GLOBE TRAVEL AWARDS 2015
Noel Josephides Ex-gymnast juggles multiple travel roles
The Globe Award for Outstanding Achievement went to Abta, Sunvil and The Travel Foundation chairman Noel Josephides. He spoke to IAN TAYLOR
Noel Josephides came into travel “by mistake” when, after three years as a management trainee at C&A, he says “it became clear to me I was not a corporate man”. After a stint in social services and importing citrus fruit from Cyprus on behalf of a Cypriot friend of his father, Noel and his business partner sold property in Cyprus. Realising there was more future in renting property, they set up Sunvil Holidays Group in 1973. Noel says: “We pioneered self-catering in Cyprus.” Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974 brought a sudden end to that part of the business, but Noel says: “We built from there.” Now, he says: “What has kept me in travel is the constant challenge. You’re fighting every day. Tour operating is extremely complicated, very high-risk and is changing so fast. I wonder if any of us will be here in five years.” Sunvil joined Aito in 1976, the year the association was born, leading Noel to take on a wider role.
“I began to
realise how much work needed to be done. I was interested in new regulations on bonding following the collapse of Clarksons [the package- holiday group that collapsed in August 1974]. We didn’t have a clue how to cope.” Noel was also involved in responsible tourism.
He says: “Travelling to Greece or Turkey in the 1970s was like going to India now. In the 1980s, there was enormous growth. Hoteliers would say ‘Pay me in October and I’ll have a property ready next May’. There was no planning. Stuff was built that you wouldn’t put your dog in. “It crystallised for me when
I went to a seminar in 1991 at which [Tourism Concern founder] Alison Rice spoke. I began to look at what was happening in Cyprus and how we could renovate villages to put people up rather than build fake villages near the coast. It began a trend.” Now Noel is Abta chairman. He says: “I didn’t want just to say ‘I’m chairman’ and
turn up for meetings. I have great admiration for the Abta team. I felt I had to act as a conduit between Abta’s corporate structure – which it needs – and the grass roots. I attend all the regional meetings. I think I shock them every so often – I do go off script – but that is healthy.” He intends to stand for a
further two years as chairman. “I don’t want to step back from the industry at all. It’s too exciting.” Noel adds: “I’d really like to get the message across to the public that there are large sectors of the industry who take responsibility for what they do, who inspect properties and who don’t take short cuts.” He calls it “the John Lewis factor”. ❯ Letters, page 30
Noel Josephides
l Attended school in Nicosia before moving to Leicester in 1959
l A gymnast in his youth, Noel taught clowns to tumble at Chessington
l Studied economics, worked at C&A on Oxford Street and ran a business importing fruit from Cyprus before moving into travel by founding Sunvil in 1973
l Joined the Association of Independent Tour Operators (Aito) in 1976, the year it was founded, and was a director, deputy chairman then chairman from 1988 until recently
l Represented Aito on the Air Travel Insolvency Protection Advisory Committee (Atipac) for more than a decade
l Founder member and trustee of The Travel Foundation from 2003
l Joined Abta’s mem- bership committee in 2003; Abta board member since 2006
❱
Noel Josephides with Ruth Hilton, Gold Medal, flanked by Stuart Parish and Lucy Huxley, both Travel Weekly
NOEL JOSEPHIDES 14 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 22 January 2015
l His contribution to destinations has been recognised by the governments of Portugal, Greece and Cyprus
THE
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
SPONSORED BY
BIG INTERVIEW
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