p26 Ops Dec11 8/12/09 17:21 Page 26
news operators
ttglive.com
Interview Hugh Morgan, Cosmos
The industry also needed to act as one body
on sustainable travel, he said.
From Spanish rep
Referring to Sunvil managing director Noel
Josephides’ suggestion to the Abta board that
a levy on members should be channelled to
“green” ventures, he said it was one of many
“good and clear ideas” about the way forward.
“It is certainly something I consider to be
to Order of Merit
important,” he said.
“But we need a more coherent system of
collecting and using money to work towards a
more specific goal. This issue needs to be
tackled as one by the industry.”
Hugh Morgan has been honoured for his contribution to the industry,
Merited accolade
receiving the Cross of Officer of the Spanish Order of Civil Merit.
Morgan started life in travel as a rep 40 years
He tells Rupert Murray about the challenges that lie ahead ago and has worked at all levels on his way up
to his present role. He has been an integral part
of travel’s own industrial revolution, watching
C
onsumer protection and sustainability it evolve from a treat for the elite to a
are two of the biggest challenges near-necessity for the masses. Cosmos alone
facing travel, according to one of the takes four million people on holiday a year.
industry’s most respected veterans. So it was not surprising that the Spanish
Speaking after the Spanish government government saw fit to award Morgan with the
bestowed one of the highest honours available “Cruz de Oficial de la Orden del Merito Civil”,
to foreigners upon him, Cosmos overseas which translates as the Cross of Officer of the
purchasing and operations director Hugh Morgan Spanish Order of Civil Merit, equivalent in
said the confusion over consumer protection status to an OBE.
had to be settled once and for all. Only a handful of Britons have ever gained
such respect from the Spanish – a mark of the
Protection and sustainability esteem the country holds for Morgan’s years
“People need to feel confident that if of dedication to the Spanish tourism industry.
something happens they will get their holiday Other winners include the bosses of the big
or their money back,” he said. “The key is to two, Peter Long and Manny Fontenla-Novoa, as
create a level playing field, while making well as former Abta president Justin Fleming.
sure all clients are protected; at the The accolade was presented at the Spanish
moment they have no idea if they are embassy last month by the Spanish ambassador
and in many cases don’t even ask on behalf of the King.
until something goes wrong.” Morgan said he was “deeply honoured and
extremely proud”. “It is a rewarding and
emotional experience to receive recognition in
this way and I am deeply flattered.”
LAUNCHPAD.
Reign of Spain
Cosmos When he started out as a rep it took days to
Distant Dreams travel from the south of Majorca to meet
March 2010–April 2011 someone in the north. Now the entire valley in
This brochure has a range of early which he has lived for two years, in Pollensa,
booking and promotional offers, from free on the north of the island, has Wi-Fi.
champagne and spa treatments to room Morgan cites communications technology as
upgrades. New properties have been introduced one of the major changes in the industry, along
in Grenada, Tobago, Jamaica, Cancun, Luxor, with the ease of getting around the world and
Kenya, Goa and the Maldives, with prices the volumes in which people travel.
starting from £455 for seven nights at the And he is confident about the future of his
Badala Park in Gambia. There is also a range of beloved Spain. “Destinations such as Turkey
beach, tour, two-centre and cruise and safari and Egypt have had a great year thanks in
holidays in Mexico, the Caribbean, Indian particular to the euro, but Spain is still number
Ocean, India, Egypt and Africa. one in the British public’s eyes with more than
■ cosmos-holidays.co.uk 15 million people still coming every year.
“I can’t see that changing.”
26 11.12.2009
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