NEWS ROUND-UP
Midcounties consortium switches venue to Ibiza
Juliet Dennis
Midcounties’ Co-operative Travel Consortium has switched its annual conference from Majorca to Ibiza after doubling its membership in the wake of Thomas Cook’s collapse. The consortium now boasts
176 members after taking on 104 members following the failure of Cook, including Freedom Travel Group, last September. It will now hold its conference at
the Grand Palladium White Island Resort & Spa in Ibiza on April 20-23. The property is larger than the
Iberostar Jardin del Sol Suites in Majorca, which had been lined up to host the event a few days later. Alison Holmes, head of The
Co-operative Travel Consortium, said the group was forced to move the conference to accommodate its larger membership. She said: “The original venue was not big enough.”
Holmes said the conference would
be attended by a higher number of suppliers as a result. Agents are being urged to sign up fast. “There has been a huge amount
of interest from suppliers because of the growth of the consortium. This conference is an ideal opportunity for new members to network with existing members and understand the consortium. We are getting very close
BARRHEAD OPENS IN DONCASTER: Six former Thomas Cook agents opened the latest branch of Barrhead Travel, in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, last week. It is the sixth of 20 new stores the agency chain plans to open by the end of March. Barrhead this week revealed its next two locations will be Leigh in Greater Manchester and Selby in North Yorkshire. The Doncaster staff have more than 100 years’ combined industry experience. From left: (back) Lisa Cooper, Callum Fielding, Claire Wheeler and Karen Barley; (front) Melissa Hext and Clare Eckersall.
10 23 JANUARY 2020
travelweekly.co.uk
Alison Holmes
This conference is an ideal opportunity for new members to network with existing members
now [to full capacity],” she said. The itinerary is being finalised
but is likely to include workshops to cover the consortium’s diverse membership, with afternoons free for networking or to explore the resort. New agencies had now “bedded
in”, said Holmes, who is recruiting for a second business development manager to support members. More than half of Freedom’s
agency members moved to Midcounties’ consortium, while more than 100 homeworkers, formerly part of Freedom’s Personal Travel Advisors division, are understood to have moved to work for consortium members.
Jet2holidays adds live chat on trade website
Jet2holidays has introduced a live chat function for agents on its trade website as an alternative to phoning its call centre. The facility, at
trade.jet2holidays. com, operates from 8am to 9pm on weekdays and 9am to 6pm on weekends.
Australia plans £40m for tourism recovery
The Australian government has pledged £40 million for a tourism recovery package following deadly bushfires. The money will be used to protect jobs, small businesses and local economies to help get tourists visiting Australia again. Tourism Australia will use £13 million for an international marketing campaign.
CMV’s Astoria to leave fleet after 2020 sailings
Cruise & Maritime Voyages will not renew its charter contract for Astoria as it prepares to welcome two new ships, Pacific Dawn and Pacific Aria, in 2021. Astoria’s final season this year includes four departures from Poole and three from Hull.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88
