EDITOR’S COMMENTS
NEWS Hot Stories
04 – Cook cuts indies’ commission; Royal expands sales team; PTD expected to be delayed; Hays Travel Independence Group sales up 29%; Cosmos tackles website problems
News Digest
08 – Cook commits to Cresta; Affordable Car Hire recruits Kendal; Oceania appoints UK sales boss
Big Interviews
10 – Jill Carter, Tui UK & Ireland 14 – Orlando Ashford, HAL
Special Report 12 – Norwegian plans to let guests book on board at launch of Escape
NEWS YOU CAN USE
Product News 23 – Liverpool to gain Palma route
Operator News
25 – Shearings expands luxury fleet 26 – Two Sensatori hotels to open
Aviation News 28 – Thomson unveils 2016 flights
Cruise News 30 – Thomson to lease Royal ship
Hotel News 34 – Minor heads for North Africa
ALL ABOUT YOU
Letters 38 – Cook; STA; Dubai; tax; CAA
Comment 40 – Miles Morgan: Cook mispricing
All For You 42 – Wanted: Agent Masterchef
Readers’ Lives 44 – Lakh Hayer, Pure Destinations
Mystery Shopper 50 – We test call centres in Scotland
DESTINATIONS Canada
53 – Ten of the Best: Family Experiences – dinosaurs to whales 59 – 48 hours in Whistler in summer
North Africa
63 – Where to go to dive, surf, play golf, learn to cook and study history 67 – Red Sea hotels: save to splurge
JOBS AND CLASSIFIED
72 – Vacancies and business services TRAVELWEEKLY BUSINESS
News
78-80 – UK industry ‘lacks single voice to government’: report from the WTTC Summit 2015 in Madrid
LUCY Editor-in-chief HUXLEY
Agents are clearly a priority for Royal
of the Seas, and invited me to be a judge, I was honoured and jumped at the chance.
W
What a competition to be able to run. What agent wouldn’t want to name a billion-dollar ship and be its ambassador? But Royal didn’t want any old godmother. It wanted one who, befitting the name of the ship, could also sing at the naming ceremony in front of hundreds of guests and the world’s media! I started to fear that entries for the role might not be strong enough. But you’re a talented bunch and you sent in videos of yourselves singing in your droves. Each judge shortlisted their top 10, from which a final four was chosen. By this stage, the calibre was incredible. But picking Emma Wilby, of Thomson in Elgin, was, for me, an easy choice. As well as singing beautifully, Emma had an air of grace, elegance and humility.
And her links to shipbuilding in the northeast through her
late grandfather, her work with disadvantaged children through drama therapy and her role in a military wives choir made her our hands-down winner. Emma certainly didn’t disappoint, as she was the perfect godmother. She looked and sounded stunning, and I don’t mind admitting I had tears in my eyes watching her perform. Congratulations, Emma (who will perform again at our Agent
Achievement Awards in July) and to Royal for demonstrating in the most high-profile way how much you value agents.
lucy.huxley@
travelweekly.co.uk WHAT LUCY DID THISWEEK 1
2 3
Hosted a Business Breakfast with a difference, allowing the trade to quiz four of Google UK’s most senior directors
Had a great catch-up on all things travel with White Hart Associates’ Chris Photi
Was lucky enough to spend two days on board Anthem of the Seas, interviewing all the directors
23 April 2015 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 3
hen Royal Caribbean approached Travel Weekly to help find a UK travel agent to be the godmother for Anthem
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