74 | TRADE NEWS
www.nitravelnews.com
November/December 2023
Why Not Make It Here? Tourism NI Vows to Boost NI Tourism and Hospitality Recruitment
A third of employers in the tourism and hospitality sectors in Northern Ireland are currently experiencing recruitment difficulties. That’s according to new research from
Tourism Northern Ireland. The data was released as Tourism NI launched phase two of its ‘Make it Here’ campaign, which is dedicated to changing perceptions of working in the tourism and hospitality sectors and attracting and retaining more great people. A survey of more than 100 businesses who
FOLLOWING the success of its recent competition, The Big Royal Thank You, Royal Caribbean International has announced the grand finale winners.
Created for travel partners across UK and Ireland featuring the cruise line’s largest prize pot to date, the 8-week competition saw over 3,700 agents battle it out each week to win one of the almost 300 prizes available including a family bike set, Caribbean Cruise and more. The agent who topped the table at the
end of the week was Northern Ireland’s very own, Dawn McCaffrey from Clubworld Travel. Dawn’s jaw-dropping prize is a new MG4 EV Electric Car due to be delivered in the coming weeks, with a miniature version awarded for now. “I am so excited with winning this once
in a lifetime prize, it means the world to me and my family. No more car sharing with my husband for me and my 2 girls!” said Dawn McCaffrey, agent at Clubworld Travel. Not content with just first place, Northern Ireland was also home to the third place winner, Elaine Truesdale from Cruise Beyond – Oasis Travel, whose hard work resulted in her winning £1,000 on her Club Rewards account. “Just wanted to extend my BIG thank you
to you for all you help, guidance and support. I am totally delighted to have been placed 3rd in the Big Royal Thank You. That amount of money the month before Christmas truly does mean the world to me” said Elaine Truesdale, agent at Cruise Beyond – Oasis Travel.
Jennifer Callister, head of sales for Ireland, who presented the award, said “From the start of the competition, the
travel agents in Ireland were leading the way. We couldn’t have asked for more enthusiasm and engagement from our travel partners across the country.”
The second place prize of a Caribbean
Cruise, complete with flights, for two people was won by a UK-based travel agent from Cruise 1st. To find out more about upcoming competitions and opportunities,
trade
agents should keep an eye on myclubroyal.
co.uk.
easyJet holidays appoints new Head of Distribution
EASYJET holidays has appointed a new Head of Distribution to lead its travel trade partnership division. Natasha Marson will join following her
most recent role of Head of Independence Group at Hays Travel. Natasha will lead the holiday provider’s
eight strong distribution team which, with the help of over 5000 agents, contributed to easyJet holidays taking almost 2 million people away in 2023 and becoming the UK’s fastest growing tour operator. Natasha Marson said “I’m thrilled to be joining easyJet holidays
as Head of Distribution. Like many, I’ve seen the mark it’s making on the industry so I’m incredibly excited to be joining the UK’s fastest growing tour operator, working closely with the distribution team and travel agent partners to deliver brilliant holidays.”
NI Agent Takes Home the Top Prize in ‘The Big Royal Thank You’
took part in Tourism NI’s Tourism Enterprise Development (TED) programme found that 33% of employers are currently experiencing recruitment difficulties and, with the festive period approaching, 62% of the industry feel they need continued support for developing staff skills, recruitment and retention. Make it Here is designed to address negative perceptions of tourism and hospitality and highlight positive aspects of working in the industry that are usually overlooked, such as career progression opportunities, flexible working hours and the sociable nature of many roles. The Make it Here campaign is being supported by key industry bodies such as Hospitality and Tourism Skills (HATS) network, Hospitality Ulster, Northern Ireland Hotels Federation,
Northern
Ireland Tourism Alliance, Springboard, Bus & Coach NI and a range of employers.
Jet2 to Boost
Jo Rzymowska Joins UK’s Biggest Independent Travel Agent
CELEBRATED travel expert, Jo Rzymowska, is to join the Hays Travel board as a non-executive director. Jo is a highly respected business leader, known
for her commercial nous as well as her passion to drive greater diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry. When she stepped down from Celebrity Cruises in July 2023, she made it clear that she did not intend to retire, but was keen to apply her years of experience to support businesses and individuals as they grow.
Moroccan Tourism With 5 Year Investment
HOT on the heels of launching scheduled flights and holidays to Morocco for the first time in their history,
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have demonstrated their commitment to the country by signing a formal agreement to invest into the development of Moroccan tourism for the next five years. The partnership agreement was officially signed by Steve Heapy, CEO of
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, and Mr Adel El Fakir, the CEO of the Moroccan National Tourism Office (MNTO) at the World Travel Market in London, one of the world’s largest tourism trade fairs. As a result of the partnership, Jet2.
com and Jet2holidays will co-operate with the MNTO to help drive tourism growth in the country through a heavyweight joint-marketing campaign commencing next year. The online and offline campaign will showcase the many things that the stunning country has to offer holidaymakers and independent travel agents right across the UK. As well as working together on joint- marketing campaigns, Jet2 and MNTO will hold meetings during the long- term agreement to evaluate, discuss and review the ongoing partnership. Just last month, the UK’s largest
tour operator and third largest airline announced that it will operate year- round to two destinations in Morocco – Agadir and Marrakech – with flights and holidays on sale for both Winter 24/25 and Summer 25. The companies will operate up to 17 weekly flights to Morocco from six UK airports, with over 180,000 departing
seats on sale. Customers travelling to Morocco with Jet2holidays and Jet2CityBreaks are initially able to choose from around 50 4-5 star hotels across Marrakech city, the wider Marrakech area and Agadir. Steve Heapy, CEO of
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “We are absolutely delighted to add Morocco to our portfolio, and we are already seeing how popular the magical destinations of Agadir and Marrakech are with our customers and independent travel agent partners. Working in partnership is critical to the success of our business and signing this major agreement with the Moroccan National Tourism Office (MNTO) is something we are very proud of. We are investing directly in the development of tourism in Morocco through this agreement, and we are fully committed to working with our partners at the MNTO to ensure that holidaymakers and travel professionals know all about the huge variety of things to do in this amazing country.” Mr Adel El Fakir, CEO of the Moroccan National Tourism Office (MNTO), said: “This strategic partnership with Jet2.
com & Jet2holidays will enable the Moroccan destination to be a huge driver of sales for the United Kingdom’s leading tour operator. This agreement will allow us to accelerate the achievement of our objectives in this market through diversified programming and a 17 direct air connections per week offer from several British hubs to two of Morocco’s leading tourist destinations, Marrakech, and Agadir”.
Previous research has shown that many people in Northern Ireland don’t consider a career in tourism or hospitality because of negative perceptions about issues such as job security and long hours. Tourism generates an estimated £1bn in visitor spend for the economy each year and accounts for one in every 12 jobs, with 65,000 people working in tourism and hospitality. Tourism is also one of the most geographically and socially dispersed sectors of the economy, with 70% of jobs located outside of Belfast. But the sectors have faced significant skills shortages in recent years, particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic. Eimear Callaghan, Head of Experience & Industry Development at Tourism NI, said: “Our industry has a powerful voice and we need to come together to shout about the vibrant, rewarding careers in our sector. Phase one of the campaign, launched earlier this year, attracted more than 30,000 visits to the ‘Make it Here’ website, so we know there is genuine interest from potential jobseekers. “Employers are responding to the skills challenge by introducing more flexible rotas, new training opportunities, and changes in pay, grading and working conditions.”
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