NEWS ROUND-UP


NORWEGIAN ESCAPE LAUNCH: “The investment in our fleet marks the beginning of a new dawn” Francis Riley, page 14


Pebble Travel eyes trade after buying niche brands


Juliet Dennis juliet.dennis@travelweekly.co.uk


Pebble Travel Investors is looking to work with the trade for the first time as it seeks to create a portfolio of soft-adventure brands.


The intention follows the private


investment firm’s acquisition of two travel businesses in the past week: Italy specialist Long Travel, and Cycling for Softies, which specialises in gourmet cycling holidays in France. Pebble Travel, set up by industry


entrepreneurs including Stewart Baird, Ian Brooks and John McEwan, now plans to sell its two cycling brands, BSpoke, launched last December after the acquisition of Bents Tours, and Cycling for Softies, through agents “as soon as possible”. Both were direct-sell. The news came as Pebble


appointed Miles Porter, former sales and commercial manager at Novasol and Skiworld, to oversee trade relationships. Both cycling brands now sit in an activity division within Ski


WTM survey finds fear of terrorism influences holiday decisions


A fear of terrorist attacks is one of the biggest concerns for UK holidaymakers, according to a survey by World Travel Market. More than six out of 10


holidaymakers who opted for a staycation this year said a fear of terrorism had been an important factor in their choice. The only more commonly cited factors were affordability and weather.


TUNISIA: Two terrorist atrocities The poll of 1,038 holidaymakers


found that four out of 10 who did opt to travel abroad said they felt “unable to totally relax”


8 travelweekly.co.uk 5 November 2015


NEWS IN BRIEF


Abta delays its general meeting by two weeks


Abta has rescheduled its general meeting from November 10 after some members did not receive sufficient notice. The meeting, which will decide whether future chairmen are appointed by the board rather than elected by members, will take place on November 25. › Talk Back, page 19


Atlantic Holidays unveils ‘price parity’ pledge


SOFT ADVENTURE: Pebble Travel has two cycling and one ski brand


“A lot of agents are crying out for this product, as they don’t have a lot of providers”


Solutions, Pebble’s direct-sell tour operator based in Battersea, London. Ski Solutions managing director


Craig Burton said the group was already in talks with consortia to


“hammer out” commercial deals. Commission levels have not been finalised. The move to work with the trade


followed research showing agents did not have enough niche cycling holidays to offer clients, he said. “A lot of agents are crying out for


this product, as they don’t have a lot of providers doing this,” added Burton. “There are a lot of people who are active and ride bikes, but just don’t know this type of holiday is possible.”


in the wake of the attack on a beach in Tunisia which killed 38 people. That tragedy came three months after 22 tourists were killed in a Tunisian museum. One in five of those polled


(22%) said they were ‘very concerned’ about the threat of terrorism and a further 18% said they were ‘quite concerned’. The report looked at seven


areas: industry optimism, emerging destinations, sports tourism, responsible tourism, aviation, booking trends and UK holidaymakers’ experiences.


Atlantic Holidays has launched a low deposits offer and a ‘price parity’ pledge as it seeks to woo the trade. The Portugal specialist operator will visit independent agents in the northeast, West Yorkshire, the Midlands and the south coast to deliver marketing material. › Talk Back, page 19


Travel Counsellors recruits Graham from Celebrity


Travel Counsellors has appointed Mike Graham as head of sales promotion. Graham joins from Celebrity Cruises, where he was strategic accounts manager. He will take up his new role next month.


Moresand tasks Eliatamby with expanding operations


Moresand has recruited industry veteran Sam Eliatamby to expand its tour operations under the Moresand Holidays brand. Eliatamby, who has worked at British Airways Holidays and Southall Travel, said he was seeking to bolster trade ties.


Travel Weekly’s Booth wins award for Caribbean article


Travel Weekly features editor Joanna Booth won the best travel trade feature category at the Caribbean Travel Journalism Awards. Booth, who has worked at the magazine for seven years, won for her feature about discovering the authentic side of southwest Jamaica.


PICTURE: REUTERS


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