p2 contents Jan15 13/1/10 20:48 Page 2
Give BEST a chance,
the rewards are
news
likely to be yours
“MIGHTY OAKS from little acorns grow”, goes an old
English proverb. And the formation of BEST (Better
Escorted Touring) is at the moment a small acorn
dropping into the travel trade soil.
Who knows how mighty a tree it will grow into?
It’s too early to tell, but the success of Ace in the
cruise sector suggests there is a place for such
associations.
this week
At the same time, the BEST founders accept there
is a lot of work to be done, and success is never
assured – but whatever happens, it is clear these
operators are not taking this commitment lightly.
They are passionate about their product, and
honestly believe the trade has a lot to gain if it
embraces touring; they are determined to work
together to bring about a resurgence of the sector.
It seems that plenty of agents already understand
the potential, but more are unable to shake the
Meet the Dubai high flyers. . .
image of battered coaches on the road all day Thomas Cook Signature and Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing partnered
packed with little old ladies and their Tupperware. with Emirates and Atlantis, The Palm to host a dinner for more than 80 Cook
TTG had a hand in bringing the group together agents and award top Dubai sellers. Attending the event were (from left):
and we hope agents will listen to BEST over the agents Michaela Banks, Gemma Courtman and Suzy Mills; Lucy Blogg, DCTM;
coming months as it begins its task. and Valerie Dawkins, Thomas Cook. For more photos, see p29
If it works, there is the potential for high commis-
sions, tiny complaint ratios and great repeat E-Clear. Protection reform.
business – surely the travel agent’s holy trinity? More creditors revealed p4 ‘Majority view’ sought p10
Controversial credit card payment Abta’ Mark Tanzer has urged all
Speak out now, or pay the price company E-Clear owed money to members to take part in two
Regulation, regulation, regulation. Three consulta- YouTravel and Deutsche Bank, it consultations about the future of
tions about how the industry should be regulated emerged this week the industry in the next few weeks
are under way, and Abta wants to be sure it hears
all its members’ voices loud and clear. Trade body. Cruise.
It’s easy to ignore such exercises and assume they New era for touring sector p5 Strong start for sales p16
are irrelevant and you won’t be listened TTG has helped some of the top Cruise prices are holding up during
to. But the system for regulating the escorted tour operators in the the January “wave” season, with
travel industry is broken and it needs country to join forces and create lines selling far better than this
fixing badly. their own trade association time last year
The way in which it is repaired will
affect all agents and their customers Homeworking. Air.
for a long time to come. If it’s a botch What’s your potential? p6 Gulf Air cuts flights p18
job, the travel industry will pay Travel Counsellors is hoping to Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf
the price, not the Whitehall attract new talent with a website Air, is to reduce the number
bureaucrats who draw up that reveals how much money of flights it operates from the
the replacement for Atol. a potential recruit can earn in UK to the Middle Eastern
So it is important as their home area country
many agents as possible
take part. The only way to Tesco partnership.
be heard is to speak up. Teletext retail shop No2 p9 REGULARS.
Teletext Holidays’ foray into the Comment p14
Chris Gray
world of retail shops takes another Cruise p16
News Editor
step forward at the end of this Air p18
month with the opening of its Operators p20
second agency Letters p22
02 15.01.2010
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