In TTG: Farewell to John Hays; Royal's UK chief; minister's open letter

On pages 8-9 we bid farewell to industry titan John Hays, with fond recollections from four Hays Travel Independence Group members.

Next is our look back at 2020 and the lessons that have been learnt: ‘Embracing the new reality’.

A write up from a recent TTG debate explores whether we can expect a normal peaks, before a round up of some of the key headlines from the recent WTM virtual: ‘We brought this global pandemic on ourselves’.

Our big interview this week is with Royal Caribbean International’s vice-president EMEA Ben Bouldin: ‘We want consumers to be confident there’s a path back to cruising in 2021’.

Another interview with Jet2’s head of trade sales Alan Cross explores: ‘Customers want the reassurance and confidence of booking with an agent’.

For the analyses, we take a look at what the end of the Posted Workers Directive means for travel, before we take a deep dive on racism, and diversity in travel.

The monthly Travel Agent Tracker write-up then features: ‘Trade looks to 2021 with renewed hope following positive vaccine developments’.

For a bit of light relief, turn to Posted for TTG’s annual satirical Christmas poem, to the tune of Slade’s Merry Christmas Everybody.

Our sponsored feature this month is with Jersey: ’Little island, big spirit’.

The features section kicks off with a round-up of Christmas present ideas, from businesses recently created by smart-thinking travel professionals.

Next we speak to TTG 30 Under 30 member Emily Trumble of Encore Travel on getting through this year, then we catch up with the TTG Travel Heroes and Destina Travel, with tips for agents on running a virtual event.

On Our Radar this month is Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, before we shine a light on some of the burgeoning traveller trends for agents to tap into for 2021.

We round off with a look at the Caribbean and the bucket-list style experiences it offers to clients who want to visit in 2021.

One Last Thing this month comes from Oasis Travel’s Sandra Corkin: ‘We have a duty to work together and offer hope’.

And last but not least, we have the regular TTG Luxury section, kicking off with news of ‘Carrier’s pre-peaks pick-me-up for key agents’ and ‘Pelorus founder in race to raise funds’.

Next, we pick out the latest hot hotels and tempting ideas in Arrivals before focusing on some beautiful new hotels in Europe to recommend to luxury travellers in 2021.

The focus of our deep-dive Tried & Tested hotel review this month is Gilpin Hotel & Lake House in Windermere, where we combine the new Spa Suites with Michelin-starred cuisine.

And rounding out the section – and this last issue of TTG for 2020 – is our interview with legendary hotel creator and entrepreneur Grace Leo.