NEWS ROUND-UP


COMMENT: “Working as a trainee provided me with grass- roots knowledge of the business” Sharon Munro, page 24


Reuben’s Retreat marks five years with campaign


Juliet Dennis juliet.dennis@travelweekly.co.uk


Reuben’s Retreat is to release a video and launch a text message fundraising campaign to mark its fifth anniversary.


The charity was set up by travel


professionals Nicola and Mike Graham on August 23, 2012, two days after the death of their son Reuben, aged 23 months, from a rare brain tumour. To remember Reuben and mark the charity’s achievements and ongoing fundraising needs, a film has been put together to go live on the charity’s YouTube channel. This will encourage people to help the charity reach its next fundraising level by texting ‘Next23’ and an amount between £1 and £10 to 70070. A limited-edition mug will also be produced to mark the anniversary. The charity needs £750,000


to fund the retreat’s next three phases of development. This will pay for a hydrotherapy pool, arts, crafts and messy play area, sensory room and movie room, office space, reception and volunteers’ quarters. So far, three of 10 planned phases of building work have


Colleagues pay tribute to Ande Soteri after sudden death


Tributes have been paid by industry colleagues and friends following the death of Institute of Travel & Tourism (ITT) director Ande Soteri. The 52-year-old suffered a heart attack last week during a trip to Cyprus. She had been


NCL builds longest car race track at sea on Norwegian Bliss


CHARITY: Reuben, right, with brother Isaac, died days after diagnosis


“We’ve had some incredible successes but we still have a long way to go”


been carried out. In total, Reuben’s Retreat still needs about £2.5 million, including the £750,000, to complete the conversion of the former hospital in Glossop in the Peak District. Once completed, the retreat


will feature five self-contained apartments and tea room, as well as the existing counselling and


on long-term sick leave as commercial director at ITT for the past two years and previously worked at Abta from 1992 to 2000 as an executive officer. ITT chairman Steven


Freudmann said he was “devastated” by the news. He said: “She was incredibly


loyal and loved her job. We will miss her very much.” Soteri had been commercial director at ITT since 2004.


10 travelweekly.co.uk 17 August 2017 Ande Soteri


bereavement support centre. Ultimately, it aims to offer 400


three and four-night breaks to families of sick children a year. To date, 252 families have been supported. Nicola, who previously worked


for Red Sea Holidays, said: “We’ve had some incredible successes but we still have a long way to go. “It’s been hard work and we only


currently have four full-time staff.” The charity has revealed it


is now looking to recruit three employees to focus on community,


corporate and event fundraising. › Spotlight, page 36


BLISS: Race track will be 1,000ft Barbara Kolosinska, director


at C&M Travel Recruitment & C&M Executive Recruitment, said: “I knew Ande for nearly 20 years and she was a really good friend. She was always the life and soul of the party. I shared some great times in amazing places with her. She will be greatly missed by the industry.” A funeral date has yet to be announced. › Talk Back, page 17


A 1,000ft go-kart track is among the features confirmed for Norwegian Cruise Line’s new ship Norwegian Bliss. The electric car track, the longest at sea, will be on two levels and will enable users to race against each other at speeds of up to 30mph. The electric cars will have speed settings for novice, intermediate and advanced drivers, with a special ‘turbo boost’ available on each lap. An open-air laser tag course and a 360ft tandem slide, the Aqua Racer, also feature on NCL’s 16th ship, which will sail to the Caribbean and Alaska with select voyages to the Mexican Riviera from June 2018. The 167,800-ton vessel


is being built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and is due for delivery next spring. › Cruise news, page 20


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