Abta LifeLine and NCL launch wellness campaign
Josie Klein
Norwegian Cruise Line has partnered with Abta LifeLine to introduce its Walk for Wellness scheme in the UK, as the charity revealed demand for its services has “increased hugely” over the past three years. NCL began the scheme in
Australia in 2020, where it encouraged agents to spend more time outside, engaging with nature and meeting like-minded members of the trade over a one-month period. The first UK programme will run
from May 1-31 and challenges agents to collectively walk 40,000 miles. If the target is met, NCL will donate £10,000 to Abta LifeLine. Agents can download the
MoveSpring app, which will track the number of miles they have walked, and provide information on the charity. It also has a chat function to allow users to speak to one another and to meet people in their local area to walk with. Gary Anslow, NCL’s regional
vice-president and head of UK and Ireland, told Travel Weekly he is “thrilled” to be bringing the scheme to the UK, and hopes it will “begin a conversation around mental health in our workplace”.
“We work in a very pressurised
industry, which is never without its challenges,” he said. “We want to give agents the opportunity to think about their own mental health by getting out in fresh air and connecting with other agents in their area.” Abta LifeLine director Trudie
Clements warned demand for the charity’s services is likely to continue to grow in the coming years. She said financial strain often causes poor mental health and urged agents to participate in the challenge to “walk, talk and get peace of mind”. “Mental health was talked about a lot during the pandemic, but the
Spend growth with agents drops but still strong, research shows
The level of spending growth with agents fell in March but outpaced other sectors, new data reveals. Barclays consumer card outlay analysis for last month found an increase in spending of 7.1% on the same month last year, down from 10.1% in February and 8% in January. A rise in total transactions of 12.6% in March was down from a 15.3% increase recorded the previous month.
8 11 APRIL 2024
focus has shifted away from it, which is why this is such an important initiative,” she said. “We’ve seen a huge uptick in
applications over the past few years. A lot of people were hit by the Thomas Cook collapse, then Covid and then the cost of living. “We need to acknowledge that the
cost-of-living crisis is probably the new normal, which means demand for our services is likely to continue to grow.” As an extra incentive, NCL will
give away four cruises for two on new ship Norwegian Aqua when it enters service in spring 2025, with weekly giveaways during May.
market.ncl.com/ukwalk
Atipac seeks new members to steer financial protection
The Air Travel Insolvency Protection Advisory Committee (Atipac), which advises the government and CAA on consumer financial protection, is seeking new members from the industry and independent members such as advisors to the sector. Apply via
tinyurl.com/ atipacapplication by April 19.
Abta’s Trudie Clements with Gary Anslow, NCL
Emirates marks 20 years at Glasgow with A380 event
Emirates was due to celebrate 20 years operating from Glasgow airport on April 10 with an event to welcome the arrival of its daily A380 service from Dubai. Richard Dewsbury, divisional
vice-president for the UK, said: “It’s a thank you to all the people who have supported us over the years – not least the Scottish travel trade. We could not have put an A380 into an airport like Glasgow without their support.” A bigger event for agents, a
drinks reception and entertainment, is due to be held on May 16. Emirates relaunched flights from
Glasgow post-pandemic on a smaller Boeing 777, but resumed a daily A380 service just over a year ago. Dewsbury reported the Glasgow
services have operated 87% full on average over the past 12 months “driven by demand to Dubai and beyond”, with the carrier offering 75 connections from Dubai within three hours of arrival. More than half its bookings on
the route come via the trade and Dewsbury, who became Emirates executive vice-president for corporate and customer experience planning in Dubai in March, said: “We are getting back to growth and having a good look at the network and the UK. I would be very happy to see more capacity come to the UK and to Scotland.”
Tui committed to UK despite end of its dual stock exhange listing
Tui Group has issued an assurance that the UK will remain a “core” market despite ending its dual listing on the London and Frankfurt stock exchanges. Chief executive Sebastian Ebel said “placing a clear focus on one stock exchange listing” would “increase the visibility and attractiveness of our
shares for our global investors”. i Business news, page 46
travelweekly.co.uk
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