September/October 2025
www.nitravelnews.com
Gold Medal Celebrate Agent and Supplier Relationships with Belfast Visit
GOLD Medal hosted a lunch for travel agents in Belfast in August, attended by 15 travel agents, six members of the Gold Medal Senior leadership team alongside three of their valued supplier partners.
Held in Deanes at Queens, the company treated guests to a wonderful three-course meal with added insight from partner suppliers Liza Hammond from Aer Lingus, Carrie Day from Intrepid and Josh Smith from Princess Cruises.
Simon Applebaum, Managing Director,
Gold
Medal said: “It was a real joy to host our recent lunch event in Belfast. Not only were we able to spend time gaining insight and building relationships with our brilliant Northern Irish agents whilst enjoying delicious food, it also gave us an opportunity to showcase the great relationships we have with a selection of our supplier partners. My team and I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, and we are already busy planning how we can increase the support our Northern Irish travel agents receive from Gold Medal and our specialist brands – watch this space.” Kirsty Johnston, NI Travel News’ Editor- in-Chief was kindly invited to attend and speak at the event. She said: “Gold Medal have always been a strong partner of NI
Travel News and I was delighted to be invited to attend their agent and supplier appreciation lunch and also to be given the opportunity to talk a little bit about NI Travel News and our membership hub BOOKIT by NITN. “It was fantastic to see the Gold Medal team here in Belfast meeting face- to-face with some of NI’s top travel agents and also to hear from the industry supplier partners they work so strongly with,” she added. Gold Medal have been supplying package holidays, scheduled flights, hotels, car hire, tours and excursions to the independent travel trade for over 40 years.
P&O Cruises Expands Partnership Development Sales Team, Including New Appointment for NI
P&O Cruises is expanding its partnership development sales team to five with the appointment of Isla Wilson and Amber Eastwood.
The two new positions cover partnership development manager for Scotland & Northern
Lloyd Cross Joins Gulf Air Holidays
IT has been confirmed that Lloyd Cross will join Gulf Air Holidays.
This comes as the former Trade Sales General Manager announced his departure from Jet2holidays back in August. He has been with the company for over 13 years. Th e move is expected to see him join as Europe Agency Sales Director.
Ireland, and partnership development manager for North England.
Amber has a strong background in retail and business development, having held roles at Thomas Cook, Hays Travel, Barrhead Travel, Cruise118 and, most recently, Red Sea Holidays. Her hands- on experience as a travel agent gives her a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing partners today. Isla brings a wealth of cruise industry experience and a deep commitment to creating unforgettable journeys. Her approach centres on building collaborative partnerships and promoting meaningful travel experiences that enrich lives. Isla has been tasked with forging new relationships with the Northern Ireland trade as well as taking on the SPAA relationship in Scotland, while Amber will assume responsibility for agents in the North of England. Along with Sarah Bytheway and Hayley Gadd, who cover the South of England, they will form a dynamic team dedicated to delivering tailored support and engagement to travel agents across the UK and Ireland.
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