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minister and chief executive of Sabre Mexico, headed the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) – the industry’s leading private sector organisation, headquartered in London – from 2017 to 2021 before becoming chief special advisor to the Saudi Arabia ministry of tourism. Nominated by Mexico, Guevara


would be the first woman to head the organisation if confirmed by a vote of the 38 member countries on the executive council on May 29. She accused Pololikashvili


of “wasting money on his election campaign” and “promising countries something in exchange for their vote”. Guevara is strongly placed,


with the support of senior figures at WTTC member companies, although former Greek tourism minister Harry Theoharis is also a strong candidate. Both favour reform of the


organisation and improved relations with the private sector which have deteriorated markedly since Rifai’s tenure (2010-17) when leaders of the UNWTO, WTTC and Pacific Asia Travel Association lobbied world leaders together on the value of, and to support, global tourism. Guevara is favourite given


her profile, background and record. She has also campaigned strongly beyond the confines of UN Tourism members, with multiple press releases issued on her behalf (five in the UK in the first half of May alone). A simple majority of the


executive council will be enough to win. The decision then goes to a general assembly in Riyadh in November requiring a two- thirds majority for ratification, with the new secretary general to take over in January 2026.


Firms ‘should seek refunds through card chargebacks’


Ian Taylor


Travel businesses should consider using the Visa and Mastercard chargeback schemes to “claw back payments” from suppliers when owed refunds, according to a leading industry lawyer. Rhys Griffiths, partner and head


of the travel group at Fox Williams, told a recent Abta Travel Law Seminar: “Travel companies can use chargebacks if a flight is cancelled and the money has not gone back to the cardholder. It doesn’t matter if the airline has paid the customer, it has to repay the cardholder. You can use this mechanism to claw back payments even if suppliers don’t have them.” Chargebacks allow a cardholder


to request that a card scheme recover payment for a non-delivered service or product. Griffiths noted: “This proved very


effective against Ryanair during the pandemic, although Ryanair fought tooth and nail. Tens of millions of


He added: “Chargebacks can also Rhys Griffiths


pounds were recovered through this mechanism.” He explained the typical Visa or


Mastercard transaction – with a card issuer and cardholder (customer) on one side and a merchant acquirer and travel company (merchant) on the other – works the same for an agency using a commercial card to pay an airline as for a customer. Mastercard and Visa publish


extensive rules and conditions for processing chargebacks, which Griffiths described as “proscriptive”, but said they “will refund a chargeback for non-provision of travel services”.


be relied on by businesses when an airline goes bust. We used this for clients when Monarch went bust – making chargeback claims for tens of millions of pounds. The same thing happened with Thomas Cook.” Griffiths argued: “It’s a powerful


way of protecting your business against the risks of insolvency of suppliers. But it comes at a cost because the use of virtual cards is more expensive, and the chargeback process is quite cumbersome. “There is a fee at every stage in


addition to the money you’re fighting about. We’ve had experience of tens of thousands of chargebacks going to arbitration and coming out in favour of the clients. But there is a ‘loser pays’ principle in the process, so you have to be fairly certain you’re going to win.” He noted merchant acquirers


“can be potentially ruinous to your business. In a crisis, they can set your customer payments aside. But getting this right can be a lifesaver.”


EasyJet highlights Easter date for rise in half-year loss


EasyJet reported a loss of £394 million for the six months to March last week, up from £350 million the previous year despite an 8% rise in half-year revenue to more than £3.5 billion. Chief executive Kenton Jarvis


attributed the increased losses to the movement of Easter from


46 29 MAY 2025


March last year to April this which had a £50 million impact and was “stronger than originally estimated”, with “some price stimulation” required in March. EasyJet reported offering 6%


more seats in the half year and flying 8% more passengers. Revenue at easyJet holidays


increased by 29% year on year to £400 million on the back of a 27% increase in customers to more than one million, “driven by a slight increase in average selling price to £578”. This was £6 up on the prior year, with 75% of customers


booking four or five-star hotels, and led to a 42% rise in easyJet holidays’ half-year profit to £44 million. The airline has scheduled


moderate growth in capacity of 1% this summer versus summer 2024.


travelweekly.co.uk


Kenton Jarvis


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