NEWS ROUND-UP


MOVERS AND SHAKERS


Z Princess Cruises has appointed ex- Thomas Cook national sales


and event manager Natasha Lizardos as sales operations manager on a 12-month contract. Lizardos will fill Mark Lowman’s sales operations manager role while he takes on Karen Farndell’s role as UK senior sales manager. Farndell is replacing Rachel Poultney, sales director for the UK and Europe, while she takes maternity leave from January.


Z Jo Turney has joined Club Med as strategic account


manager. Turney, who was Freedom Travel’s commercial manager, will oversee Hays Travel and Midcounties Co-operative and will be in charge of developing Club Med’s retail strategy.


Z Former Thomas Cook and MyTravel boss Phil Aird-Mash is


to become chief executive of ITC Travel Group. Aird-Mash will begin his role at the luxury travel group in January 2020.


Z Ex-Culture Trip and Expedia senior travel executive


Andy Washington has joined Groupon. Washington has been appointed vice-president of travel for the EMEA region.


Comment: “In a world where agents are bombarded with sexy incentives, how do operators stand out?” Gordon McCreadie, page 20


Ex-Cook agents unite to open Holiday Hotspot


Benjamin Coren


Tree former Tomas Cook agents have joined forces and opened a travel agency in Larne, Northern Ireland. Louise Magill, Caroline Hunter


and Ella Whiteside, who lost their jobs following Cook’s collapse in September, opened Holiday Hotspot on Saturday (November 16). It is now one of two agencies


in the town, alongside the former Tomas Cook branch that has since reopened as Hays Travel. Te three agents, who between


them have 80 years’ industry experi- ence, all have shares in the business. Magill said: “We had to keep


everything fair. We’re all in it together and it helps us work beter as a team.” Holiday Hotspot has joined Te


Global Travel Group. Magill said: “I’d known a few agents who were Global members and their feedback was great, so we used [Global] as our preferred group Atol. “Global have been very


Cruise Nation hires Jemma Bridges to push trade sales


Former Tomas Cook partnerships manager Jemma Bridges has joined Cruise Nation as the agency looks to sell packages through the trade. Bridges has been appointed


global product and partnerships manager and started work for the Swansea-based business on Monday. In addition to building


8 21 NOVEMBER 2019 COLLAPSE


THOMAS COOK


Ella Whiteside, Caroline Hunter and Louise Magill


supportive. Tey are one of the biggest [consortia] but not the largest, and so it feels like a family.” “We wanted to be in charge of our


own destiny,” said Cahill. “At Tomas Cook, we didn’t know


what was going on behind the scenes. We were devastated when it collapsed – it was our livelihoods. “With our own business it’s more secure and we can see day-to-day how


the business is doing, whereas before we only knew how our shop was doing, not the entire company.” Magill said the way the business is


set up incentivises the team. She said: “Rather than having


individual targets, we know what we need to achieve day-to-day. “We’re all doing it together to


achieve the same outcome to make our business viable.”


relationships with cruise lines, Bridges will oversee media partnerships and devise a strategy to sell Cruise Nation packages through other agents. Bridges held several roles at


Tomas Cook including partnerships manager, cruise-and- stay assistant product manager and cruise product manager. She will be based in Cruise


Nation’s new Peterborough office once a site is secured. Owner Phil Evans has


recruited 12 other sales staff to work at the Peterborough site with Bridges.


travelweekly.co.uk


Jemma Bridges


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