INSIDE THIS


WEEK Contents


NEWS Hot Stories


Travel House boss unveils Swansea airport plan; Platt aims to raise £30k for legal costs; new LGBT brand launches; Lowcost impact on PTD implementation


Round-up


Kuoni store in Windsor; Aito competition; Tui signals price rises; Eurostar strike


WIN! Special Report


Nine places on an arts-themed Dubai fam trip with Travel 2 are up for grabs page 34


Botterill backs Ibiza-based thriller movie Conference Report


Connections Luxury hosts Phuket event Talk Back


Direct-sell, Winchester Travel, Travel 2


NEWS YOU CAN USE Product Voyager Insurance, Disney prize 21


Operator Newmarket, China Links Cruise Fred River, P&O, SuperBreak Hotel Shangri-La, Hard Rock, Sandals


FRONTLINE Comment Andy Freeth, dnata UK


Readers’ Lives Gillian Williams Mystery Shopper Islington, London


DESTINATIONS


Theme Parks & Attractions Extended family: Fun for all in Florida


‘RISKS AND BENEFITS’ Lowcost’s failure showed how risk has passed to agents, says Gary Lewis


back page


Active & Adventure Europe: Breaks away from the crowds Add-ons: Bite-sized chunks of activity


BUSINESS NEWS


Round-up Barrhead signs BDO; Tui Q3 62 Back page Lewis on Lowcost fallout


64 38 SeaWorld: Agent reporter Gillian Davis 44


48 55


WHAT


LUCY DID THISWEEK


Aug 18 1


2 3


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12 14 17 08 04


of Wales’s largest independent agency chain, The Travel House, and with significant vested interests in Swansea City FC and two exclusive hotels, is at it again. This time, he is planning to develop Swansea airport for


A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Create, serve and thrive O


regional commercial flying, hoping to attract airlines with smaller aircraft to the 1,472-metre runway. He’s had a crack at this once before, in 2000. But this time,


he’s harnessing the firepower of a group of local businesses to support him, and is confident they can pull it off. If they do, it will be great news for Wales’s second-


largest city, which is already enjoying a higher profile and increased wealth since its football team, of which Martin is a director and majority shareholder, was promoted to the English Premier League in 2011. And it could mean extra business too for agencies in the area – The Travel House has 20 – if carriers start popular routes. Such drive and passion to build and develop businesses in the sector is one of the reasons Travel Weekly honoured Morgan with our Outstanding Achievement Award at the Agent Achievement Awards in 2014. The one-time market-stall trader, who trained as a welder and then repped overseas before opening his first agency in 1992, still has fire in his belly to do more (page 4). Meanwhile, the plan of Travel Designers’ Nick


28 33 36


Harding-McKay to set up his own LGBT travel brand on the high street reminds us that the entrepreneurial spirit in our industry isn’t just the preserve of the likes of Martin but is a characteristic of frontline agents too (page 5). It also highlights the importance of evolving and targeting niche markets to ensure they stay relevant and thrive well into the future.


nce an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur. And so it came as no surprise that Martin Morgan, owner


Lucy Huxley Editor-in-chief @Lucy_Huxley


Had a fascinating talk with Colin Butts and dnata’s Andrew Botterill, writer and producer respectively of Ibiza-set film White Island


Was delighted to be able to promote Travel Weekly deputy news editor Hollie-Rae Merrick to editor of our luxury magazine Aspire


Took my daughter to her first horse show where she and her pony came first in the prettiest mare class and second in the fancy dress!


18 August 2016 travelweekly.co.uk 3


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