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Lewis targets 1,000 members by end of 2017
Juliet Dennis
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
The Travel Network Group is targeting more than 1,000 members within 18 months as part of an ambitious growth strategy to further strengthen its position in the UK market.
Chief executive Gary Lewis said
the group’s aim was to dominate the independent travel agency sector for the benefit of its existing members. Growth would come primarily from helping members to expand their businesses and from
members proactively promoting the group, said Lewis, but he has not ruled out acquisitions of other independent agency groups. The group currently has 910 members, with branches counted as separate members, and is made up of the Travel Trust Association, Worldchoice, Worldchoice Plus and Independent Travel Experts. He said: “Our ambition is to
grow our members’ businesses by helping them grow; scale is important. “We have an incredible pipeline of people coming to talk to us about joining. That was not
Gary Lewis does not rule out acquisition of other agency groups
happening two years ago. “We have only grown over
the last 12 months because our members have talked positively about us.” The plans follow the management buyout of the group in January. Lewis and his management team now own 85% of the group, with 15% owned by a venture capital firm. Lewis added: “The experience of the management buyout has given us a great deal of further
experience that we can now use to help members who want to further develop their businesses.” Lewis compared the group
to a blue-chip company in how it now represents members, which collectively make holiday sales worth £2 billion a year. He said: “Our ambition is to be this market-leading, member- centric business that dominates the independent travel market for
the benefit of our members.” › Conference report, page 16
5 Trade ‘at risk’ over passport advice
Hollie-Rae Merrick
hollie@travelweekly.co.uk
Abta has warned that travel firms that fail to inform customers of changes to visa and passport rules could be at risk of liability and made to pay.
It comes as reports suggest that
up to 80,000 British travellers planning to visit the US may have “the wrong kind of passport”. The association said informing
customers of visa or passport requirements at the time of
booking was an Abta code of conduct requirement and any travel company failing to do so may have to pay for any losses incurred by passengers unable to travel. The US quietly announced late
last year it would introduce a new rule requiring visitors to have biometric passports from April 1. Abta sought to fend off criticism of the sector. Nikki White, its head of destination sustainability,
writing in this issue of Travel Weekly, said the association had issued two notifications about the US passport rule change, one in
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travelweekly.co.uk 12 May 2016
“A travel company may be liable for losses if it had not given the right information”
December and another in January. She said: “A travel company
may be liable for losses incurred by passengers who were unable to travel if it had not given the passengers the correct information about entry requirements.” An Abta spokesman added that agents “certainly should have been”
alerting customers to changes as it was “good practice”. Imp Travel director Mark Brewer said he had reassured a handful of clients who had been in contact. Carley Gower, manager of Newell’s Travel in Helston, Cornwall, said her staff had alerted a client due to travel in three weeks’ time that her passport would not be accepted. Advantage Travel Partnership’s
David Moon said some members had been double-checking
bookings as “good practice”. › Talk Back, page 21 › Comment, page 34
PICTURE: STEVE DUNLOP
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