January 2024
www.nitravelnews.com
60 Businesses Unite To Fuel Young
Entrepreneurs In Northern Ireland
(Hurtigruten Expeditions), the
founders of expedition cruising, have announced the appointment of Hayley Van Der Steen and Sophie Nelson as Trade Partnership Managers, alongside Megan Lewis, Inside Sales Executive. The new hires bring expansive cruise and travel experience with them, and marks HX’s commitment to strengthening relationships with trade partners ensuring they have all the support they need.
As the experts in expedition cruising and mindful adventure, these appointments focus on propelling HX’s trade partners to new heights and collectively driving demand for the growing expedition cruise market. HX’s trade partnership managers and inside sales team are central to this success, providing crucial support to agents in growing their HX business. With 20 years’ experience in the travel and hospitality sector, including business development roles and first- hand experience onboard cruise ships as a Senior Officer leading sales and loyalty, Hayley is a familiar face to trade partners and brings a wealth of knowledge as well
OVER 60 Northern Irish businesses have joined forces in a major show of support for the next generation of entrepreneurs. Backing the enterprise education charity Young Enterprise, these companies are a crucial part of the newly launched Business Backers campaign. The initiative, responding to the success of previous programmes, is all about giving young people the tools and confidence they need to succeed in business, and it’s catching on fast across the country. Young Enterprise’s aim is for all young people to
have the chance to explore their entrepreneurial abilities whilst simultaneously developing additional skills that will serve them for both work and life.
HX (Hurtigruten Expeditions) Expands UK Commercial Team HX
a strong network of trade contacts with her to HX.
Recently becoming part of the ITT Board of Directors, Sophie has experience in key business roles, driving revenue and managing relationships with major partners, including travel agents and tour operators across the UK and European markets. Starting her career as a travel and partnership
coordinator, Sophie’s
passion for travel has seen her recognised as ‘one to watch’, having won and been shortlisted for several awards including the AWTE Rising Star in 2019, and most recently named in TTG’s prestigious 30 Under 30. As Trade Partnership Managers, Sophie and Hayley will be managing everything with the travel agency partners.. Their focus will be ensuring agents are equipped to increase their expedition cruise business with HX.
The appointment of Megan as HX’s Inside Sales Executive brings additional sales support to trade partners, ensuring they receive the help they need and experience
effortless business with HX. She will be facilitating front line
TRAVEL TRADE NEWS | 69
European Travel Comission Celebrates 75th Anniversary
THE European Travel Commission (ETC) marked 75 years of promoting and rep- resenting European tourism at its Gen- eral Meeting #106 in Tenerife, hosted by Spain’s National Tourism Organisation, Turespaña. The event saw record partic- ipation, bringing together leaders from thirty-three European national tourism organisations, as well as private sector ETC associate members. ETC was first established in 1948 to pro-
incentives, as well as organising ship visits and FAM trips for trade agents. Megan joins HX with over six years’ experience in the cruise industry, having worked across both the UK and EMEA markets, as well as regional sales teams in sales, marketing and business development. Nathaniel Sherborne, VP of Sales and Marketing UK and Nordics, HX said; “The expansion of our team is a pivotal moment for us at HX, marking a long- term investment in strengthening our partnerships with the travel trade. Our travel agent partners are an integral part of our business, and we are unwavering in our commitment to them. Whether that be through training, marketing assistance or in-depth product education, we will be supporting them with the tools they need to promote HX and expand their expedition cruise business. “We welcome Hayley, Sophie and Megan, and are excited to have three seasoned professionals with extensive experience at market-leading brands join us, and solely focus on supporting our trade partners.”
mote Europe as a destination and advocate for tourism as a crucial sector for maintain- ing peace and prosperity. 75 years later, ETC and its 35 members continue to collaborate to jointly promote Europe overseas and drive the transition towards a more resilient and regenerative travel ecosystem. To mark this milestone, ETC invited its members and partners to reflect on the future of European tourism. Discussions brought together experts from the Europe- an Commission, the World Tourism Organ- isation (UNWTO), the European Tourism Association (ETOA), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Turespaña, and Turismo de Tenerife to share insights and best practices on how to build a green and prosperous future for the travel sector. ETC President Miguel Sanz commented:
“This General Meeting has been an excellent opportunity for ETC to celebrate its 75th an- niversary alongside so many of our valued members and partners. After three-quarters of a century promoting European tourism, it is wonderful to see that ETC is still growing, as Go Türkiye returns to our organisation. We are also excited to welcome the Hilton Group, Mastercard, Miles Partnership and Queer Destinations as new associate mem- bers. Such strong collaboration and clarity of vision puts us in an excellent position to steer the industry towards a prosperous, re- silient, and sustainable future.”
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