68 | TRAVEL TRADE NEWS


Northern Ireland Agents Attend Annual InteleTravel Conference


Visit Belfast Announce New Chair


INTELETRAVEL’S Northern Ireland travel agents were out in force at the homeworking group’s annual InteleTravel Quest (ITQ) conference in Malaga earlier this month.


Around 400 agents and 70 suppliers attended the event, where president and founder James Ferrara revealed the UK and Ireland turnover for 2023 is £95m, up 50% on the previous year, and the average transaction fee is £1,500. InteleTravel has 16,500 agents in the UK and 500 in Ireland.


Air France-KLM and Etihad Airways Announce Frequent Flyer Partnership


AIR France-KLM Group and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has announced a new partnership between their respective loyalty programmes following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two airline Groups in September 2023. Members of Flying Blue, Air France and


KLM’s loyalty programme, and members of Etihad Guest, will now be able to earn and redeem Miles in either loyalty programme when flying on Air France, KLM or Etihad.


FORMER Belfast Met Chief


Executive and Belfast City Council Director of Development Marie-Therese McGivern succeeds Kathryn Thomson. Marie-Thérèse McGivern has been appointed Chair of


Visit Belfast, the


city’s official destination marketing and management organisation. The former Vice-Chair takes over from Kathryn Thomson,


chief executive of


National Museums NI, who was appointed to the role in October 2020. Kathy will continue to serve as a member of the organisation’s 15-strong Board of directors. Confirmation of the appointment was made at Visit Belfast’s annual general meeting at the city’s Europa Hotel, where delegates were updated on its continued progress in delivering the objectives set within its three-year Rebuilding Tourism Strategy – introduced in 2021 to support the city’s post-pandemic recovery. Commenting on her appointment, Marie-


HOTELS on sale through easyJet holidays—which include the Palladium Hotel Group and Pestana Hotel Group— can now price their rooms on easyJet


www.nitravelnews.com


Thérèse McGivern said: “A key pillar of our city and regional economy, tourism is a significant source of employment in Belfast – supporting around 20,000 jobs


– and


50,000 more across Northern Ireland. It’s a catalyst for millions of pounds of investment, in building


networks and opportunities for business,


driving growth in hospitality


and retail, in promoting Belfast on a global stage, supporting local culture, arts and heritage and promoting, driving and leading in sustainability. “Taken together, these highlight the important contribution that tourism makes to Belfast and Northern economy and wider society – and how tourism is a force of good that supports all areas of our economic and social life. Building on the outstanding work of the Board under Kathryn’s lead, this year as we begin a new chapter, is an opportune and exciting moment to take up this important, leading position.” Marie-Thérèse recently served as Principal and Chief Executive of Belfast Metropolitan College. Prior to that, she was Director of Development at Belfast City Council where she was responsible for economic development, arts, tourism, events and community services. She is Chair of Maritime Belfast and also Chair for the


holidays based on travel demand, using SiteMinder’s market-leading distribution capability, which powers more than 100 million hotel bookings globally each year and is accessible to easyJet holidays via TravelGateX.


January 2024


Employability and Skills Advisory Board for the £10 billion Belfast Region City Deal. She is a Non-Executive Director of the Strategic Investment Board for Northern Ireland and for Northern Ireland Water. Visit Belfast chief executive,


Gerry links,


Lennon, said: “I would like to thank Kathryn for the work, dedication and leadership during what has been a period of unprecedented challenge and uncertainty and warmly congratulate Marie-Thérèse on her appointment. “Tourism growth and recovery continues apace and


though challenges


remain,


I’m confident that Visit Belfast will benefit greatly from Marie-Thérèse’s vast experience, leadership and expertise to further strengthen tourism’s growing economic impact for Belfast and the City Region.” The AGM heard that Visit Belfast was on track to deliver more than £300 million to the local economy in the three years to 2024 through its sales, marketing and visitor servicing activity – an investment return of more than £30 for every £1 invested, including an on-track and increased target of £125 million for its current 2023-24 (April-March) year.


Funded and supported by Belfast City Council, Tourism Northern Ireland, Tourism Ireland, Invest NI, Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, Ards and North Down Borough Council, Visit Belfast’s strategic partners include Translink, Diageo Ireland, Belfast Harbour, Queen’s Arcade and Value Cabs. Its corporate partners include ICC Belfast, Titanic Belfast, Hastings Hotels, Hillsborough Castle and Gardens and the Irish Football Association.


easyJet Holidays Partners with SiteMinder to Make Listed Hotels Bookable really


pleased to partner


The partnership comes at an opportune time for easyJet holidays’ curated list of hotels. SiteMinder data shows that hotel bookings in various pockets of Europe are now above 2019 levels, including in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Additionally, bookings are largely being made by travellers close to their date of arrival. Among hotels in the UK and Spain, slightly under half (49%


and 45%, respectively) of all bookings made in the last two weeks are for stays this month. “We’re


with


SiteMinder and be able to tap into their market-leading distribution capability for our listed hotels. As hotel bookings surpass 2019 levels, it is important that our listed hotels are able to benefit from the returning demand and apply a smarter, more competitive pricing strategy to make sure they don’t miss out on revenue,” says Roy Stratford, Head of Commercial Partnerships at easyJet holidays.


TUI UK Introduces Expanded Trade Team


THE TUI UK trade team, reporting to Andrew Isherwood, TUI Head of Trade Relations, has been boosted with an additional nine team members, bringing the group to 17 strong.


The new team is testament to the global travel and leisure company’s commitment to support UK travel agents in selling TUI products. Amongst the new team members are four trade relations managers, who will cover the length and breadth of the country, to ensure all independent travel agents who want to sell more TUI holidays have the knowledge and tools they need. Neil Swanson, TUI UK &I Chief Marketing Officer, commented:


“The new TUI trade team is ready to hit the ground running and get out meeting independent agents ahead of the turn of year booking period. But this isn’t just for Christmas, it’s a long-term commitment and we are here to stay.


“The team are working on their plans for 2024 and beyond to ensure they are building


strong and sustainable relationships with our independent agent partners.” The new regional travel managers will


be headed up by Holly Wood, Senior Trade Relations Manager (who will also be covering the south of England agents) and includes Gavin Enever, Trade Relations Manager – North; Craig Moffat, Trade Relations Manager – Scotland; Kerri Rasberry, Trade Relations Manager – Midlands and Siobhan Bosket, Trade Relations Manager – Northern Ireland.


In addition to the new trade relations


team, TUI has also invested in trade relations support reporting to Hayley Vaughan, Trade Relations Support Manager. Three additional executives have joined the team – David Shelford, Corrie Edwards and Kirsty Reid. The final new addition to the team is Deborah Crannage, TUI Training Delivery Manager, who will be responsible for all agent training requirements across the UK. The team will also be supported by the four strong Marella trade team led by Steven Heath, Senior Trade Relations Manager.


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