5 2
Tui UK chief Nick Longman leaves after 20 years
Tui will now decide
Amie Keeley and Lucy Huxley
Nick Longman, managing director of Tui UK and Ireland, has left the business after 20 years to join “another travel company” in the summer.
Longman told Travel Weekly
that the job of Tui UK & Ireland managing director was “arguably the biggest job in travel” and “one you don’t give up lightly”. He declined to reveal which company he was joining, but said it was time to take on a new challenge, and that he had been keen to leave before he stopped enjoying his role. He said: “I have absolutely loved
my job. I am passionate about the product and had a great team of people. The business is in great shape and we’ve just done our new strategic plan, which is looking really good, so for all those reasons I am sad to be leaving.” Longman said he had worked
Nick Longman has left Tui to join ‘another travel company’
consistently for 30 years and so would take the next few months to “recharge his batteries”. “I reckon I have one more big job
in me,” he said. David Burling, chief executive of
Tui Northern Region, will oversee the UK and Ireland division until a new managing director is appointed. Sources close to the company
suggested financial director Robert Coldrake could be in the running for the top job. A Tui statement said: “Under Longman’s leadership, Tui UK & Ireland has achieved commercial success, launched two cruise ships, seen developments in the retail estate, the e-commerce programme and contact centre operations, and he led the business through the rebrand [from Thomson] to Tui.” Longman, who trained as an accountant, has held various leadership roles in the business since 1998, joining as head of audit for First Choice.
which stores suppliers can visit and when
Tui dictates when suppliers can visit
Ben Ireland
ben.ireland@
travelweekly.co.uk
Suppliers will no longer be able to choose which Tui stores they can visit after a shift in company policy based on feedback from its frontline agents.
Tui, which has more than 600
UK retail shops, will limit the number of suppliers visiting high-footfall stores and instead ask them to go to locations struggling to meet sales targets. Some agents said they wanted
fewer visits to free up time with customers, while others said they would prefer more training from suppliers to boost their third-party sales, according to Tui. A spokeswoman said: “We have
[listened to] feedback from our retail agents and suppliers to implement a new system that will make sure that all of our stores are fully supported by our suppliers. This new system will ensure that we have full supplier coverage across our whole retail network.” Tui will now tell suppliers which
stores they can visit and when. Travel Weekly contacted several
“If Tui says we can’t visit a store, we have to go another time just for Tui – or not visit them. It’s not really practical”
add-on and cruise suppliers about Tui’s move who said the decision would interfere with how they plan and organise their trade sales team visits. One supplier, who asked to remain
anonymous, said: “If we’re blitzing one area, we can go to Thomas Cook, Hays and any independents in one go; but now, if Tui says we can’t visit a certain store, we have to go another time just for Tui – or not visit them. It’s not really practical.” Tui has previously made clear
its focus on prioritising in-house product, such as own-brand hotels, Marella Cruises, and its own attractions and tickets product. In its latest trading update,
Tui Group chief executive Friedrich Joussen said the operator’s hotel and cruise brands had “further expanded their unique offering this year”.
8 February 2018
travelweekly.co.uk 5 3 STORIES HOT
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