p9 News Sept1 16/9/09 19:27 Page 9
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news
In brief
Brands come together
■ Operators add data to travel monitor
Kuoni and Club Med have become the latest
operators to start contributing sales data to the
Leisure Travel Monitor, compiled by research firm
under W&O umbrella
GfK Ascent-MI. Managing director Sarah Smalley
said accurate booking information and analysis is the right move for them and for
Rupert Murray.
was vital to the travel industry and the addition LUXURY tour operator Western & clients.
of Kuoni and Club Med would improve her com- Oriental Travel is uniting nearly “Agents make up a significant
pany’s knowledge and insight into the market. all its brands under the parent proportion of our business, approxi-
Inghams marks 75 years: Operators, p24 company’s name in a move it says mately 35%, so it is important that
will make life simpler for agents. this works for them.”
■ Tipto takes roadshow to Jersey The company has been acquiring All brochures will be branded
The Truly Independent Professional Travel operators over the past four years W&O Travel. The names of the old
Organisation marketing consortium is to take its and now has more than a dozen operators will be used as the
agent roadshow to Jersey for the first time on brands including Rainbow Tours, Tropical brochure titles, such as Villa Select, Kids in the
November 17. Other Tipto autumn roadshows are Locations and Ranch America. Med and South American Experience.
on September 30 in Peterborough, October 20 in After consulting its top-selling agents, the The changes are already being implemented
Doncaster, October 21 in Bolton, November 24 in group has decided to unite its brands under the and the first re-styled brochure – W&O Travel: Ski
Brighton and November 25 in London. W&O Travel umbrella. Dream – is already out. The rest are due to
W&O’s group managing director, Ian Neale, follow over the next few months.
■ Thomson axes fee for specific-seat bookings said: “In marketing terms this move makes Only two parts of the group’s leisure business
Thomson Airways passengers can now reserve a sense, and even things as basic as brochure will retain separate brands:
key2holidays.co.uk,
specific seat of their choice online for no extra numbers will help agents – our brochures won’t a direct-sell website; and Regent Holidays,
charge. Thomson said it was dropping the charge take up as much space. which specialises in emerging markets such as
to make it easier to avoid the “seat lottery” “Our efficiency should be much improved and, North Korea and was the first operator to sell
faced by passengers on most no-frills carriers. having spoken to our top agents, they believe it Cuba back in 1972.
However, customers still have to pay at least £6
to book an allocated seat.
Vertical Group buys Villas for Travel
■ Cosmos cuts cost of visiting Father Christmas
Cosmos has cut first-child prices for families VERTICAL Group has acquired a majority share in 14 countries through Vertical’s accommoda-
travelling on Santa Claus holidays to its most in independent self-catering specialist Villas for tion supplier,
Bedbank.com.
popular property in Finnish Lapland. First-child Travel, for an undisclosed sum. Vertical Group chief executive Peter Healey
prices for a three-night trip staying at the four-star The deal is the second acquisition in three said the deal would allow the group to meet
Hotel Levitunturi in Levi Fell have been reduced months for Vertical, which bought homeworking demand for villa products that its customers had
to £499 from a brochure price of £735. The offer company Holiday Experts in July. been requesting.
is open for bookings made before September 30. It will allow Villas for Travel to offer its Vertical Group also owns
Bedbankski.com,
Cosmos Tourama responds: Letters, p34 inventory of more than 1,000 holiday properties Tarsc and Miss Ellies Travel.
■ SAA to trial OAG’s online traveller tool
South African Airways is to be the first airline
to use a new interactive online timetable and
route-mapping tool. The carrier has teamed up
with aviation data specialist OAG to use Route
Mapper, which helps travellers make bookings
by giving instant information on direct and
connecting routes, times and flight details.
■ Brussels Airlines expands in Africa
Brussels Airlines has expanded its destinations
in Africa thanks to a new code-share agreement
with Lufthansa. It can now offer flights to Cape
Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, Accra in
Ghana and the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.
YACHT’S NEW, CAPTAIN? Holiday Options’ Edwina Coppock (right) shows Christine
ttglive.com
For the latest news, reviews and comment
Bulman of Thomas Cook in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, the Croatia specialist’s new
from the travel industry, visit
ttglive.com brochure, which includes sailing holidays for the first time
18.09.2009 09
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