Flying the flag for accessible travel A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR


One of the most memorable and enjoyable moments of this year’s Travel Weekly Globe Travel Awards was the presentation of our Unsung Hero award to Tui’s Marina Snellenberg. The company’s accessibility manager sums up everything we look to honour with that accolade, working tirelessly to improve product and service for those who have traditionally been underserved. We hear more from Marina this week (page 10), as Tui sponsors our


third annual accessibility themed edition, and it is great to see her so upbeat about the progress being made. However, as other specialists point out, the overall pace of progress


remains slow and there is still much to achieve to cater properly for those with accessible needs and their families and travelling companions (page 4).


Both Marina and Ocean Holidays boss Harry Hastings remind us that, while making travel accessible is the right thing to do, it also makes perfect commercial sense (page 12). And we hope the news and advice in this edition help inspire you to seize the opportunity to


better serve a client base that covers 20% of the population. As we also report in this edition, there are two potentially significant milestones due to be


reached in the coming weeks, with the publication of reports from the accessibility taskforce and the CAA (page 5). Let us hope both offer concrete platforms from which to accelerate provision for travellers who need tailored assistance, so Marina and the many others flying the flag to make travel truly accessible to all can continue their good work.


Lucy Huxley, editor-in-chief, Travel Weekly Group CONTENTS NEWS News


The Interview Comment


4, 5, 6 10 12


News You Can Use 17 Agent Diary Your Stories Destinations


26 28


30-37


HMRC ‘caused HotelConnect’s failure’ 4 Specialists seek more accessible product 4 Accessibility Task Group to issue report 5 Rise in allergy claims; Enable Holidays 6 Aito Agents to expand; travel insurance 8 The interview


Marina Snellenberg, Tui accessibility manager 10


comment Harry Hastings: Inclusivity is a win-win 12


NEWS YOU CAN USE


Traveleyes, Jet2, Tui, Seable, Tennessee 17 TTC Tour Brands, Dive Worldwide


18 Cunard, Celebrity, Princess, Regent 20 COVER photo:


Gibraltar tourism minister Christian Santos (centre) and Visit Gibraltar staff welcome Aito agents and operators, including Aito Agents chair Gemma Antrobus (second from right)


FRONT COVER AND THIS PAGE: Mark Rodriguez/Visit Gibraltar; Andrew Strain; Sarah Lucy Brown; Steve Dunlop


travelweekly.co.uk


FRONTLINE caught on camera


MSC Cup scores £30k for Reuben’s 22 AAAs 2025 preview David Duff, Azamara Cruises


24


agent diary Jennifer Lynch: United effort will pay off 26


FOLLOW US: @travelweekly


WHAT LUCY DID THIS WEEK


OCompleted the judging for this year’s AAAs. Met some amazing agents and we selected some outstanding winners. Roll on July 10!


OHosted our Inspiring Women lunch at The Chesterfield with guest speaker Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce.


OTook my daughter – and her prom dress – to a brilliant alterations lady, who is going to save the day!


Your Stories Not Just Travel team Dimple and Sonali Lakhani


28


competitions Win a Disney cruise to Norway’s fjords 29


DESTINATIONS accessible Travel Canada: Adaptive skiing, kayaking and biking are just some of the accessible activities in Whistler


30


Deaf Travellers: Experts on efforts to ease flying for hearing-impaired passengers 36 middle east & north africa


Abu Dhabi: Fresh cultural attractions are complementing emirate’s lavish hotels 38 Egypt: Find out how the planned resort of El Gouna makes for seamless holidays 43


BUSINESS NEWS


EU passenger rights; Booking lawsuit 46 Iata annual general meeting, Delhi: ›Net zero by 2050 ‘still sector’s aim’ 47 Disabled flyers offer mixed feedback 48


travelweeklyuk @travelweeklyuk 12 JUNE 2025 3


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