Agency growth is source of inspiration A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
There’s nothing I find more inspiring than meeting the agent readers of Travel Weekly, and last week I had the chance to do just that when I was invited to moderate the Fred Olsen Travel conference. The event was the first time the business had brought together its retail division with its GoCruise franchisees and licensees, and its theme of ‘Don’t Stop Us Now’ chimed perfectly with the mood in the room – as well as offering some great opportunities to hear the famous Queen track. Managing director Steve Williams told delegates the business overall
was currently 14% ahead of 2023, itself a record year, as he unveiled ambitious revenue targets for this year and next (page 10). Like many travel retail businesses, Fred Olsen built up real momentum
coming out of the pandemic, so all the talk at the conference was about ensuring that continues. It was clear that cruise, touring, adventure and luxury travel are keeping Fred Olsen Travel on
the crest of the wave – and bosses urged agents not to deviate from a focus that is clearly paying real dividends.
At one point, Steve looked out at the 150 people in the room and remarked that he couldn’t believe how far the business had come to be able to stage its own conference of such scale and to be reporting such great results. It was genuinely emotional to witness his look of pride – and also his determination to lead his team on to even greater success. Like all the travel agencies Travel Weekly strives to serve, we wish them all the best.
Lucy Huxley, editor-in-chief, Travel Weekly Group CONTENTS NEWS
Sector ‘must heed’ overtourism protests 4 Designer Travel launches tips database 4 Trade hopes for bank holiday sales fillip 5 ‘Plan risk strategies’; TTC trade ambition 6 Agents get creative; easyJet apologises 8
COVER star Kieran Marshall admires
Kotor Bay in Montenegro on Jet2holidays-backed trip
page 26 Photo: Steve Dunlop
NEWS YOU CAN USE Fred Holidays, Norse, Palm Beach Pure Luxury, InsideJapan, If Only
15 16
MSC, Celestyal, Windstar, Crystal 20 Holderness and Beardsley in Princess’s celebrity line-up; Travelmarvel; Carnival 22
FRONTLINE
agent diary Colin Burns: Window cards work for us 24
FRONT COVER AND THIS PAGE: Grupo Golf Resort/Roger Mendez Fotografo; Shutterstock/Yaroslav Astakhov, Nickolay Stanev; Steve Dunlop
travelweekly.co.uk FOLLOW US: @travelweekly /
Special Reports Fred Olsen Travel Conference, Bucks 10
HAL to base ship in Dover in 2026 12
comment Giles Hawke: There’s still plenty to sell 14
WHAT LUCY DID THIS WEEK
●Was honoured to receive TravMedia’s outstanding contribution award – really a reflection on my fantastic team.
●Had a great meeting with Claire Sanderson, editor of Women’s Health and first female editor of Men’s Health, who will speak at our next Inspiring Women lunch.
●Took a (very!) long day trip to Durham University with my son to tour the colleges on an open day for offer-holders.
close-up Porthcawl Travel, Gold Medal, Jetz Travel 28
competitions Las Vegas, F1, Club Med, vouchers 30
DESTINATIONS
LGBTQ+ Travel Expert Advice: Sell holidays to the LGBTQ+ market with more confidence thanks to tips from three experts 32
Greece: Country’s welcoming ethos to be on show at EuroPride in Thessaloniki 35
spain & portugal Luxury: Our pick of some of
the best higher-end hotels for families, couples, city stays and beach breaks 38
Douro Cruises: Five of the best options 42
BUSINESS NEWS Jet2 tips 33% profit rise for 2023-24 46 Nats ‘broadly concurs’ with MPs’ report 47 Ryanair, Wizz Air, Norwegian, Royal 47 Environmentalists slam SAF mandate 48
travelweeklyuk , @travelweeklyuk 2 MAY 2024 3
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