use Twitter as well as advertising and PR. Follow @ABTAtravel and use the hashtag #ABTAearlybird to tweet offers.
Symphony World Travel displays winning window Karen Moth of Symphony World Travel in Kingswood, Surrey, will be jetting off to Swiss mountain retreat The Lodge after winning Virgin Limited Edition’s ‘Best Dressed’ competition. The contest, judged by Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley, saw entrants dedicate their window displays to the hotel group’s
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properties. Travel consultant Moth pipped four other finalists to the prize. The runners-up won tickets to a club night at The Roof Gardens, Virgin Limited Edition’s private members club in London.
Abta to push Early Bird campaign on Twitter Abta is to promote a week-long Early Bird booking campaign on Twitter. The campaign aims to get customers to book with Abta members, who are being encouraged to tweet holiday offers using the #ABTAearlybird hashtag and include links to abta. com/earlybird on their websites. The Early Bird campaign, which starts on January 20, will
Brand USA and Thomas Cook launch joint campaign Brand USA has teamed up with Thomas Cook Group for a multimillion-dollar marketing deal to promote the country. The three-month partnership will include in-store promotions across Cook’s agencies, prominence in brochures, social media activities and agent training, as well as print and digital marketing activity.
Super Escapes Travel joins Broadway Travel Consortium Former Hays Travel Independence Group member Super Escapes Travel has joined the Broadway Travel Consortium. The agency, headed by Geoff Andrews,
started trading as the fourth member of the consortium in December and will increase the group’s expected turnover this year to more than £60 million. Broadway said it was in talks with two more prospective agencies.
Thai protests threaten to shut down Bangkok Escalating protests in Thailand threatened to shut down Bangkok ahead of elections on February 2 in what is the high season for UK visitors. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office warned of “major disruption to travel” and described the situation as “unpredictable”. Thai authorities set up Tourist’s Friend Centres to advise visitors at ] airport and around the city.
Travel Weekly is official partner for
Travel Brit Awards Travel Weekly has been named trade media partner of the Travel Brit Awards, the annual event to celebrate the best sellers of domestic travel. The awards are organised by Abta’s
UK tourism and leisure committee, which includes leading domestic operators and VisitEngland. This year’s event will take place at Warner Leisure Hotels’ Nidd Hall Hotel in North Yorkshire in early July. Pictured launching the awards are,
from left: Tony Byrne, Great Rail Journeys; Claire Burdall, VisitEngland; Zena Calderbank, Hoseasons; Clare Banham, Abta; Louise Tansey, Bourne Leisure; Caroline Brown, Shearings; and Graham Balmforth, Superbreak.
Facebook is waste of time, says sales-topping agent A homeworker who achieved her projected annual turnover within six months says she is proof agents do not have to use social media to advertise. In the week Abta
prepared to launch its first social media marketing campaign (story, this page), Jacquie Cole, of Bakewell Travel, told the Aito Agents 2014 domestic conference she had no plans to use social media in her business. Her homeworking business,
now in its second year, reached its first year’s projected turnover of £300,000 within six months, and sales so far this January are 20% up on last year. She said: “I have a policy: I don’t do advertising, I don’t discount and I don’t do Twitter or Facebook. I started my business two years ago and I exceeded my projected turnover in six months.”
8 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 16 January 2014
Her comments come as Abta launches a Twitter feed to generate early bookings as part of an Early Bird marketing campaign. Aito agents were urged to use social media at the 2014 domestic conference by marketeer Paul Chapman. “Social media is critical; it cannot be ignored,” he said. However, Cole – who emails clients once a month with holiday ideas – prefers to rely on
recommendations and spend her
marketing budget
buying clients complimentary airport lounge passes or wine for their hotel room. “Social media can expose you to a lot of potential time-wasters,” she said. Aito Agents chairman Oliver
Broad said: “Every agent is different. Jacquie knows her market.” ❯ Aito conference, page 14
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