BUSINESS NEWS
Alistair Rowland, who was an elected Abta board member when appointed chair in 2019, is nearing the end of his third and final term in the role
Abta to appoint new chair in succession to Rowland
Board will likely have choice of two candidates for the role. Ian Taylor reports Clarification: This article contains analysis and speculation on the part of the author. T
Next week’s Travel Convention in Majorca will be the last at which Alistair Rowland appears as chair of the Abta board as his third and final term in office nears an end. A new chair will be appointed
following Abta’s annual general meeting in December, with the candidates seemingly limited to two since a rule change in 2015 stipulates the board must select a chair only from those on the board and he or she must be an Abta member. The board currently has 14
members, the maximum permitted, 56 2 OCTOBER 2025
but three are non-industry appointees and non-Abta members: Minette Batters, former president of the NFU; ex-dnata Travel Group UK head Ailsa Pollard; and former Monarch chief executive Andrew Swaffield. Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer
will be excluded along with Rowland, as will Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy, easyJet Holidays chief executive Garry Wilson, Tui UK and Ireland managing director Neil Swanson and Celebrity Cruises international vice- president Giles Hawke on the grounds that they represent major companies.
Daniele Broccoli, director of Britaly
Travel and Typically Italian Holidays, has been a board member since 2006 and stood for election as chair in 2009, but is unlikely to have the board’s unanimous support – a requirement of the rules. Richard Slater of Henbury Travel,
who joined the board in 2023 as Council of Regions representative, is similarly unlikely to attract unanimous support. That leaves three possible
candidates. One is Diverse World Continued on page 54
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PICTURE: Arif Gardner Photography
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