NEWS ROUND-UP NEWS IN BRIEF
Royal Caribbean shuffles team after Weetman’s exit
Royal Caribbean has appointed Vicky Billing and Lucy Preece as head of retail north and head of retail south respectively. Preece was previously Tui’s strategic account manager, while Billing has worked at the cruise line for six years, most recently as key account manager. The appointments follow the November departure of head of retail Sarah Weetman, who has rejoined escorted touring operator brands Travelsphere and Just You as head of trade sales.
Cosmos promotes Parton to director of sales role
Cosmos has promoted head of sales Janet Parton to director of sales for Cosmos and Avalon Waterways. Parton has 20 years’ experience in sales, including roles at Carnival UK and MSC Cruises.
Constable to quit as chief executive of STA Travel Group
STA Travel Group chief executive John Constable is leaving after more than a decade to “take up a new opportunity”. Reinhard Kotzaurek, managing director for central Europe, will succeed him.
Derbyshire’s death spurs fundraising for care home
Fundraisers have collected £2,740 for Cleveland House care home through a JustGiving page set up following the death of former Thomas Cook director Ian Derbyshire last month. › Talk Back, page 21
Hays agent’s fundraising beneficiary passes away
Motor neurone sufferer Sam Kyme, who featured in Travel Weekly last month when Hays Travel personal travel consultant Lisa Read launched a fundraising campaign for her, has died. Read raised £2,150 to cover flights for Kyme’s sons to live with family in Australia.
COMMENT: “Doesn’t the EU know we keep clients’ details so safe we can’t find them ourselves sometimes” Sharon Fleming, page 34
Abta expects Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia to bounce back
Harry Kemble
harry.kemble@
travelweekly.co.uk
Britons are set to return to Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia in 2018 following years of concerns over political unrest and terrorism, according to new research from Abta.
The association’s annual Travel
Trends report looks at the year ahead by drawing on market research from the previous year. Early indications from the
research suggest holidaymakers will start returning to destinations in the eastern Mediterranean. Early-season bookings for
Turkey for summer 2018 were up by 69% year on year – a rise that Abta described as “significant”. Bookings for Egypt were 29% ahead of last year. Tunisia is back on
holidaymakers’ radars after the Foreign Office changed its advice warning against all but essential travel in July 2017, prompting several operators to start selling holidays to the North African destination. The research also found that
almost 70% of people think travel
Global plans quarterly Gatherings for agents to share best practice
The Global Travel Group has begun hosting informal networking groups for its members to share best practice. The ‘Global Gatherings’ will take
place quarterly in different regions across the UK. The consortium said it hoped the gatherings would complement
8
travelweekly.co.uk 4 January 2018
DUNKENHALGH HOTEL: Blackburn property hosted first Global event
EGYPT: Early-season bookings were 29% ahead of last year 69%
Rise in early-season bookings to Turkey
companies should ensure their holidays help local people and their economy. Projects that give back to local communities and carbon-neutral group tours are predicted to become more popular. Thomas Cook has already committed to removing animal excursions such as elephant rides and swimming with dolphins from
the range of activities it offers. Virgin Holidays will stop selling
attractions or hotels that feature captive whales or dolphins. More than half (56%) of the
25 to 34-year-olds surveyed said they used a travel professional to save time when booking a holiday. The proportion of 18 to
24-year-olds planning to take a cruise in 2018 dipped to 10%, compared with 11% this time last year and 12% in 2016. The fall is despite some lines taking strides to appeal to millennials, with Uniworld, for example, launching
youth cruise brand U by Uniworld. ›What’s in store for 2018?: Special Report, page 16
existing product training and networking events. The first Global Gathering took
place in December at Dunkenhalgh Hotel in Blackburn and was followed by an event at the Crowne Plaza hotel near Gatwick. Cherie Richards, commercial
director at Global, said: “Every initiative is designed to give our members the skills and ongoing assistance they need to grow. We regularly hear from agents how useful an environment that is con- ducive to sharing ideas could be.”
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