NEWS ROUND-UP NEWS IN BRIEF
Barrhead Travel recruits Armit as head of sales
Barrhead Travel has appointed Linda Armit as head of sales. Formerly regional sales manager at STA Travel, she will join in early July. Her appointment follows a major recruitment drive at Barrhead and the opening of its latest store in Leicester.
barrheadtravel.co.uk
FCO warns of UAE jail risk for Qatar online comments
British travellers to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been warned not to sympathise with Qatar on social media or face jail. The Foreign Office issued the caution after Gulf nations, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, broke off diplomatic ties with Qatar, claiming it backs Islamist extremism. UAE authorities said “showing sympathy” would result in imprisonment or a hefty fine.
fco.gov.uk
Saga Holidays appoints Sutcliffe for long-haul role
Joe Sutcliffe has joined Saga Holidays as head of long-haul for product and purchasing as Saga expands its product range. He was previously deputy managing director and commercial director for Wendy Wu Tours. He replaces Stuart Douglass-Lee, who will be retiring after nearly 35 years in the industry.
wendywutours.co.uk
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COMMENT: “Once people go on their first tour, they realise some of their misconceptions” Giles Hawke, page 34
Monarch hails the trade as summer sales rise by 50%
Lee Hayhurst
lee.hayhurst@travelweekly.co.uk
Monarch has revealed a 50% growth in bookings this summer thanks to increased trade support following a rise in commission last year.
Immediately after sealing a
dramatic 11th-hour refinancing from owners Greybull Capital last October, chief executive Andrew Swaffield flew to Abta’s Travel Convention to deliver the news. He thanked delegates for their
support during a difficult time for the carrier and Monarch Holidays commission levels were later raised for the peaks in January as it sought greater third-party support. Nine months on, Gary Anslow,
Monarch Holidays sales director, said: “Trade sales are really strong. After Abta we put new commercial agreements in place with all our trade partners. Everyone is earning more than they were before. This was our way of saying thanks.” Anslow said the operator also doubled its above-the-line marketing spend this year. For the first time Monarch Holidays, not just the airline, was on TV.
Homeworker Welsh seeks trade support for charity bike ride
A homeworker is to cycle 350km over five days in Brazil to raise money for cancer charities in memory of her late mother. Ace Travel 2 owner Sue Welsh is
calling on the industry to help her raise £3,000 before the Women v Cancer Cycle Brazil 2017 challenge for Action for Charity in October. So far she has collected £470.
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travelweekly.co.uk 15 June 2017
CHARITY CHALLENGE: Sue will ride 70km a day for five days
GARY ANSLOW: ‘We put new commercial deals in place with trade partners’
“Everyone is earning more than they were before. This was our way of saying thanks”
A new trade website has also
gone live, which Anslow said had boosted conversion rates and lifted the online share of trade bookings from 50% a year ago to 65%. Monarch’s on-the-road sales team
has increased from seven to 11. Monarch Airlines has also
been working to increase trade engagement for flight-only following the decision to restructure under a unified
team and ditch the Avro and First Aviation B2B brands. Dawn Hardwick, head of trade sales and distribution, said Monarch was working more closely with OTAs and agents packaging up beach, ski and city-break hotels, offering low deposit deals and commission on ancillaries such as bags. “Usually a third of our flight-only
revenue comes from the trade but that’s increasing and this financial year to date it’s 35%,” she said. “Since November we have pretty much seen the same passenger volume we did in the whole of last year. We have seen double-digit
growth with the trade.” › Andrew Swaffield Q&A, page 14
Sue, 52, decided to take part
after a charity ride in the UK last year in aid of Action for Charity. Her mother Annie Vale, who also
worked in travel after founding Vales Coaches with Sue’s dad George, died in March, aged 86. She had survived breast cancer seven years ago only to be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015. Sue said: “Mum said she would be really proud of me, and that’s
what has inspired me.” › To donate, go to
justgiving.com/ fundraising/Susan-Welsh
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