NEWS ROUND-UP NEWS IN BRIEF
Cook axes Sharm holidays for winter and next summer
Thomas Cook became the first operator to pull its winter 2017-18 and summer 2018 holidays to Sharm el-Sheikh. The operator has added flights to southern Egypt’s Marsa Alam resort instead. The UK government has banned flights from this country to Sharm el-Sheikh’s airport since 2015. › Talk Back, page 21
Abta to champion tourism to 2,000 MP candidates
Abta is to run a #ValueTourism campaign ahead of the general election. It will contact more than 2,000 candidates, highlighting the value of inbound, outbound and domestic tourism to the economy. Find out more at:
abta.com/electionhub
Triangle Travel seeks staff for new store in Newbury
Triangle Travel is to open its fourth high street shop, in Newbury, Berkshire, in June. The agency’s Jessica Martin will manage the store and managing director Rob Kenton is seeking two new staff. Triangle’s existing stores are in Mortimer and Pangbourne, both in Berkshire, and Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
Broadway Travel to head to Rhodes for conference
Broadway Travel Service is to hold its annual overseas conference on October 11-14 at the five-star Sheraton Rhodes Hotel in Rhodes, Greece. It expects to host 125 delegates, including staff and suppliers.
Insight Vacations’ John Boulding to retire this year
Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold chief executive John Boulding is to retire this year. Boulding has been with parent company The Travel Corporation which also includes Trafalgar, Contiki Holidays and Uniworld, for 33 years.
COMMENT: “Amsterdam has a lot of tourists, but that does not mean you show disrespect to them, as Mr van der Avert does” Kenny Jacobs, page 33
Midcounties appoints Rad Sofronijevic to head travel
Lee Hayhurst
lee.hayhurst@travelweekly.co.uk
Midcounties Co-op has appointed a new head of its travel division as it looks to take the agency, homeworking and consortium group to the next stage of growth.
Rad Sofronijevic will be a
familiar name to many in travel, having worked in various roles at First Choice and Travelmood, part of Tui’s specialist division. Her appointment as chief
operating officer of travel at Midcounties Co-op was announced last week to staff and comes as the society reported a growth in sales for travel of £344 million for the year ending January 28, compared with £298 million the previous year. The move allows Alistair
Rowland, group general manager of travel services, to hand over day-to-day running of the division. He said: “Rad’s appointment is
all about the next stage of growth in every channel to market and expanding our companies.” Rowland, who also has healthcare and childcare under his
Cameras up for grabs as TW compiles Cool Cruises list for 2017
Agents could win one of three GoPro
cameras by taking part in Travel Weekly’s annual Cool Cruises survey. The Cool Cruises 2017 supplement will provide a definitive trade-voted ranking of the top ocean and river cruise lines. Agents already selling cruise
will have a huge knowledge of the industry, which is why Travel
8
travelweekly.co.uk 18 May 2017
“The business is progressive, innovative and performing well in a tough market”
She was previously sales and operations director for First Choice Retail and Holiday Hypermarket before becoming managing director of Travelmood. She started her travel career
SOFRONIJEVIC: ‘I’m looking forward to driving further growth’
remit, added: “My role is bigger now. I am running three specialist retail companies and have still been hands-on in travel. “I’m delighted to have been able
to appoint Rad. I’m sure it will go down well because she is known in travel. This is something I’ve been looking to do for a while.” Sofronijevic has been working in the healthcare and childcare divisions at the Co-op since April 2011, most recently as general manager of Co-operative Healthcare since April 2016.
Weekly wants your help to create the ultimate list of cool cruises for 2017. The survey is running in association with News UK and features 20 categories, four of which will be voted for by readers of The Sun. Agents who complete the
survey by June 1 have the chance to win one of the prizes. The results will be published
on July 27 in the Cool Cruises 2017 supplement, a helpful sales guide for those trying to get into cruise for the first time, or for agents trying to close a deal.
with International Leisure Group in 1988, then moved to Yugotours and West Midlands Co-op Travel. Sofronijevic said: “I am delighted
to take on the new role of COO within the Co-op Travel Group. The business is progressive, innovative and performing well in a tough market, and I’m looking forward to working with the excellent team to drive further growth.” Midcounties Co-operative Travel
currently has 56 retail branches and operates
Cooptravel.co.uk, Personal Travel Agents at Co-op Travel and the Co-op Consortium. Turnover in 2017 is expected
to top £400 million, which would represent growth of 570% in the past five years.
WIN!
How to enter Take the survey at:
comp.travelweekly.co.uk/
coolcruises
2016 cruises IN ASSOCIATION WITH
THE BEST
CRUISE LINES
AS VOTED FOR BY THE TRADE
A TRAVEL WEEKLY GROUP LTD PUBLICATION
travelweekly.co.uk TWE_COOL16_001.indd 1
PLUS: New consumer categories
› 21/07/2016 12:01
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