NEWS ROUND-UP NEWS IN BRIEF


Carnival UK promotes Ludlow and Palethorpe


P&O Cruises marketing vice-president Christopher Edgington and Cunard UK sales and international development vice-president David Rousham are to leave Carnival UK. Paul Ludlow and Simon Palethorpe have been promoted to the roles of president of P&O Cruises and Cunard respectively.


Monarch employees will receive some payment


Preferential creditors from the collapse of Monarch Travel Group are to receive some of the money owed to them, but unsecured creditors will get nothing. A progress report by joint administrators KPMG showed preferential creditors, including Monarch employees, will be paid by December 31. The value of claims is estimated at £2.7 million.


Kuoni customer takes rape case to Supreme Court


The Supreme Court will hear an appeal on a ruling that found Kuoni not liable to pay damages to a customer who was raped by a hotel worker. The High Court ruled in May that Kuoni could not be responsible for circumstances that could not have been anticipated or avoided, in the case of a woman who was raped by an electrician working at the Club Bentota hotel in Sri Lanka in 2011.


COMMENT: “My team spends much of its time not only planning holidays but also acting as counsellors and life coaches” Gemma Antrobus, page 30


Dnata boss tips online chat as ‘next thing’ for agents


Ben Ireland


Global Travel Group Conference, Universal Orlando Resort, Florida


Online chat could be the future for travel agents, but face-to- face interaction is still pivotal, says dnata’s divisional senior vice-president.


Iain Andrew said agents,


whether homeworkers or those in call centres or offices, should make themselves available to customers in the “most-popular channel”. Speaking to Travel Weekly during Global Travel Group’s annual conference, Andrew said: “There’s a lot more to come from chat. I can see it being the next thing after apps. It’s something agents need to use to their advantage.” Andrew said chat should be used


in tandem with other channels such as face-to-face meetings, phone, websites, and artificial bots that answer questions. Dnata, the parent company of


The Global Travel Group and of trade-only operators Gold Medal and Travel 2, this week bought a maority stake in artificial intelligence specialist bd4travel, whose technology Andrew said could be used by homeworkers or high street agents, as well as online.


Episode 5 of the


Travel Weekly podcast is out now and features


Uniworld president and chief executive Ellen Bettridge. Listen and download on iTunes or


Soundcloud, or visit


go.travelweekly.co.uk/ podcast


Abta’s Trends Report shows 12% upturn in forward bookings


Forward bookings are up 12% compared with the same period last year. Growth in early bookings had been driven by holidaymakers seeking value for money on the back of a weak pound, according


8travelweekly.co.uk29 November 2018


IAIN ANDREW: ‘Agents need to use online chat to their advantage’ Andrew added: “Agents offer a


level of expertise that I don’t think artificial intelligence A will ever replace, but it’s important to give them the tools to do the job to the best of their ability. AI should be a tool for them.” He said AI had the potential


to narrow down searches for agents from hundreds of hotels to a “magic five” for a customer, drilling down options using the customer’s data. But he added that agents’ expertise provides


to research published in Abta’s annual Travel Trends Report. More people took an overseas


holiday this year compared with anytime in the past seven years, with a 5% increase in the number of holidays taken. Domestic tourism saw a


slight decline in 2018 due to a prolonged winter, but spending was up by 4% to £4.7 billion. Responsible travel, wellness and ‘tailor-made’ packages are


the knowledge to pick the best of those left on the table. “It’s not that we should be


replacing agents with AI, but giving them the technology to uickly find the right product for the customer,” Andrew said. “We still need really experienced


agents behind these models. “Holidays are an important


purchase, so people want to make


sure they’re getting the best deal.”  See next week’s issue for full coverage of Global Conference


among the key trends next year. A resurgence of trusted travel agents and the emergence of service-based technology, which makes travelling a smoother experience, are also predicted for 2019. Abta also published a list


of 12 ‘destinations to watch’: Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Denver, Durban, Galicia, Japan, Jordan, Madeira, Poland, Thessaloniki, Uzbekistan, Western Australia.


PICTURE: ARIF GARDNER


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