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THOMAS COOK: Travel giant’s future is looking more certain but what does it mean for shops, staff and consumers?
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Wendy Wu Tours names Mintrim as new UK chief
Ben Ireland
Wendy Wu Tours has appointed former STA Travel boss Glen Mintrim as managing director of its UK business. Mintrim will be tasked with
driving the Asia specialist operator’s three-year growth plan and developing its trade sales. Wendy Wu Tours has been
without a UK managing director since the departure of Mark Bloxham in October 2018. Mintrim joins aſter a spell as
managing director of Te Crystal Maze Live Experience. He has also previously worked at Qatar Airways, Emirates, British Airways and Tui. Mintrim, who will be based at
Wendy Wu Tours’ London office, led STA’s transition from a student- focused business into a broader youth-orientated agency catering for 20 to 35-year-old travellers during his tenure as managing director from 2011 to 2017, when it recorded five years of successive growth. He said: “It’s a real privilege to be
at the helm of Wendy Wu Tours. We have a plan that will see us launching new and innovative products as well as nurturing and developing our links with the trade.”
Glen Mintrim We value the
continued support of our trade partners and will be rolling out more agent incentives
Mintrim pledged to keep agents at
the centre of the operator’s strategy, adding: “We absolutely value the support of our trade partners and hence will be rolling out more agent incentives and a series of exciting
EasyJet Holidays completes
board with Ablin and Callaghan EasyJet Holidays has appointed the final two directors to its board. Paul Ablin, group finance director of easyJet’s airline, will join the holidays business as chief operating officer in September with responsibility for IT, market expansion and distribution. Matt Callaghan, currently easyJet’s head of group risk and assurance with responsibility for internal auditing, will be the new customer director for easyJet Holidays.
8 25 JULY 2019
educationals in the next 12 months.” Wendy Wu, founder and
chairwoman of Wendy Wu Tours, added: “Glen’s track record in leading some of the UK’s most profitable travel companies is very impressive, plus he has the international experience and contacts in this sector.” Wendy Wu Tours said its 2020
forward bookings are currently 44% up on 2019. In January, global sales director John Warr said the operator had had to “work a litle bit harder” for bookings and said trade sales had outperformed direct bookings.
Colletts Travel appoints
Robinson as managing director London-based agency Colletts Travel has appointed Neil Robinson as its first managing director. The luxury agency, bought by US firm Travel Leaders Group in February 2017, has kept on co-founders Roy Collett and Michael Berlin to advise Robinson, who will oversee Colletts’ Hendon office and its London-based brand Fortune Travel.
Darbandi to reveal new ‘structures’ at Cook next month
Tomas Cook retail boss Kathryn Darbandi is to “update on subsequent structures” in her team next month. Ex-Freedom Travel Group chief
Kelly Cookes is to replace Torey Kings-Hodkin as head of commercial partnerships and sales planning when she returns from maternity leave in August. Kings-Hodkin is currently on secondment in the role. Cook said it was not clear what she would do next but insisted she was not “at risk”. In a leter to trade partners, sales,
e-commerce and marketing director Phil Gardner said Kings-Hodkin would continue to oversee any “live conversations”, but that Darbandi “will assume responsibility for the oversight of all new maters affecting retail”. He said: “Tis new role will also
hold responsibility for multi-channel contracts covering online, including white-label solutions, for which the position has a doted line into me.” He added: “Kathryn will update on subsequent structures in due course.” Meanwhile, Cook confirmed
weddings transformation manager and former head of cruise partnerships Julie Berry is to leave aſter 20 years with the company this week. Her role, created in 2017, will be absorbed by colleagues. Darbandi also wrote to trade
partners to assure them of “business as usual” amid talks of a takeover by Chinese conglomerate Fosun.
Celestyal Cruises’ Magowan to
leave company aer two years Andrew Magowan, Celestyal Cruises’ commercial vice-president for Europe, is to leave the two-ship Cypriot line. Magowan joined in September 2017 with a remit to drive sales in the UK market. Since then, the line said UK bookings had grown from a “handful” per year to around 1,300 in 2018, and are on course to reach between 3,000 and 3,500 UK sales in 2019 via more than 50 agent and tour operator partners.
travelweekly.co.uk
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