NEWS ROUND-UP
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Z Cosmos Tours and Avalon Waterways have appointed Caroline Page
as business development manager for central England and Wales, covering Kelly Calver’s maternity leave.
Z Sunvil has appointed Sophie Fayle from travel marketing
agency 3FOR as its first trade sales manager. She has previously worked as an agent for Keir Woodward Travel and Thomas Cook.
Z Advantage Travel Partnership has promoted commercial
account manager Kerri Thorpe to senior partnerships manager. The consortium has hired two of four new business development managers it plans for its expanded team.
Z Former Travelbag head of cruise Anna Perrott has joined The
Cruise Portfolio as business development manager. The Cruise Portfolio is general sales agent for Crystal Cruises, Paul Gauguin Cruises and Windstar Cruises.
Z Riviera Travel has named chief operating officer Phil Hullah as chief
executive. He will succeed David Clemson, who will become a non-executive director, from March 2.
8
B Away takes on former Cook staff for sixth shop
Harry Kemble
B Away on Holiday plans at least two more new branches in the southeast after opening its sixth shop, in Buckinghamshire. Five former Thomas Cook staff
who lost their jobs in the travel giant’s collapse have been employed to work at the latest shop in Chorleywood, a former fashion boutique. Managing director Jeremy Scott,
who launched B Away in 2001, said: “They are a really good team and I just say to them ‘do the best you can’. We cannot afford to lose quality staff out of the industry. “Their job is to make the phones
ring. I do not like giving people targets – one week it is one thing and then the next week it is the
Club Med plans up to 15 new properties in Asia and Europe
Club Med plans to open 10 to 15 new resorts worldwide in the next three years, including in Marbella in spring 2021, in Portugal’s Alentejo region and Borneo in 2022, and in South Africa, Krabi in Thailand and Venice in 2023. The planned properties are part
of the all-inclusive resort operator’s efforts to expand its long-haul range. Estelle Giraudeau, managing
director for the UK and northern Europe, said: “Five years ago, we were very dependent on Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. Now, because we have a new resort in Sicily [Cefalu] and are expanding on long-
20 FEBRUARY 2020 COLLAPSE
THOMAS COOK
other. They are really nice people and we’ve been able to give them an opportunity.” The agency now has 32 staff
across six branches, in Pinner, Amersham, Haslemere, Kings Langley, Rickmansworth and now
B Away’s new Chorleywood store
Chorleywood, which opened on January 4. “We are not in a volume market,”
Scott said. “It is about offering a service to people that are loyal.” Asked how many more shops he
planned to open, Scott said: “Two, maybe three, maybe four. It depends on the opportunities that arise. In our catchment area there are two or three [potential new] agencies.” Scott confirmed he was in talks to
acquire two further agencies. Reflecting on the situation
nationally, he said: “There are quite a lot of openings – by the likes of Barrhead Travel and Polka Dot Travel – but staffing is not easy.” Scott plans to set up an apprentice-
ship scheme with West Herts College in Watford to try to recruit young staff.
Club Med Marbella
haul, we broaden the spectrum of options. “Trade is still 45% of our
business, and it keeps growing more or less at the same rate as direct.” The French resort operator
said UK revenue increased by 7% to £60 million in 2019, and 2020 bookings showed a 3% rise in ski and 10% jump in long-haul sales.
Other openings this year include
a private island in the Seychelles and a ski resort in Quebec. Four ski properties in China are also due to open next year, which Giraudeau insisted would not be impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Club Med operates 67 summer-
sun and winter-sports properties in 19 countries worldwide.
travelweekly.co.uk
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