Interview

Agents want to complete training before they join ship visits, says ECN chief

The trade body believes that its new training platform, Expedition Cruise Academy, will boost agents’ understanding of the sector for years to come

Carrier launches Limitless campaign to target high value bookings

Operator has seen a “spike” in holidays worth more than £100,000 from agents

Byway at five: 'More and more people are making sustainability-led decisions'

Slow travel specialist’s founder Cat Jones tells Rob Gill why the market for slow travel is burgeoning as Byway turns five

Black Tomato founder talks 'massive growth opportunities' after momentous win

The brand broke the mould when it started focusing on experience-led travel 20 years ago

Riviera 'always looking to evolve' says trade chief as brand extends trade support

The operator has changed the way it pays out commission and launched a new training platform to try and attract new agent partners in recent months

'Olympic Holidays is seen as an old-style operator – we need to change this perception with agents'

New managing director Reeva Kingston talks TTG’s Ilaria Grasso Macola through her plans for the brand and why agents will be key to its growth

Agent seals bumper wedding booking following TTG Top 50 Champions trip

La Vida Travel owner Karen Marin Reyes made the booking following the trip to Malta last year – a country she had never visited before

MSC trade chief predicts World America 'halo effect' amid huge demand for US departures

Alyshia Bartlett, MSC’s head of retail, homeworking and tour operations, confirmed her ’main priority’ is filling MSC Virtuosa this summer

Dame Irene Hays: ‘We know what’s happening – we live and breathe travel’

TTG caught up with Hays Travel chair Dame Irene Hays and chief operating officer Jonathon Woodall-Johnston at the Hays Travel Independence Group conference. Here’s what they had to say about the state of the travel industry in 2025

Jet2 chief: Luton base launch opens up ‘whole new catchment’ for ‘loyal agents’

Jet2.com and Jet2holidays boss Steve Heapy has played down any crossover between its existing Stansted base and its newly launched Luton base

Azamara 'evolving' onboard experience to strengthen 'undervalued' brand

The four-ship line entered 2025 with highest load factor for the year ahead amid growing interest in small-ship cruising, says David Duff, UK and EMEA managing director

The COO set on taking Maybourne on a global mission

The London-based luxury hotel group is embarking on a rebranded global mission

Norwegian Cruise Line to expand trade team ahead of decade-long fleet expansion

NCL’s vice-president and head of UK and Ireland, Gary Anslow, said the line is starting to see positive results after opting to put more ’boots on the ground’ two years ago

New Travel Counsellor reaches Gold status during Heathrow chaos

Luxury travel agent Nathalie Adams reveals how she made the prestigious club just hours after Heathrow Airport closed.

Luxury cruise agent shares ‘overlooked’ rule that can ‘make or break’ clients’ trip

Claire Parsons was named a “Virtuoso Cruise Icon” after impressing the travel network with her exemplary cruise sales.

New Lindblad UK sales chief turns to 'secret weapon' to drive brand awareness

Danielle Bates, the expedition line’s head of UK sales, is now making efforts to boost agents’ product knowledge and help them understand where the line sits in the market

'It's morally wrong': hotels 'milking' Heathrow closure, says agency boss

Phil Nuttall, chief executive of Travel Village Group, slammed hotels that have looked to profit from the Heathrow power outage on Friday and increase prices by 500%

‘Locals don't understand why the tourists have stayed away’

New ITVX release Jeremy Pang’s Hong Kong Kitchen is a culinary showcase that hopes to lure visitors back to the destination, still lagging behind post-pandemic

Grecotel prepares for ‘milestone year’ with raft of agent events

Greece’s largest hotel group has a range of events and trade initiatives planned as it celebrates 50th anniversary

Elegant Resorts shares luxury sports brand plans with 'niche' angle

The tour operator says it will empower its trade partners to organise elite sports travel as it embarks on a new era under Gordon McCreadie’s leadership.

‘I have vascular dementia but I’m determined to keep selling holidays’

Jenny Jackson quickly realised that she ’absolutely loved travel’ after unexpectedly joining the industry in her late 40s, however some 27 years later she is wondering how long she can continue to sell holidays

‘She'd want me to keep travelling’: agent pays tribute to daughter after Laos methanol death

Go Travel agent Sue White’s 28-year-old daughter Simone tragically died of methanol poisoning while travelling in Laos last November. She talks about how she’s coping with returning to promoting the happy proposition of travelling, given the circumstances of her daughter’s death

AE Expeditions unveils new £60,000 extended ship visit programme for agents

EMEA sales director Andrew Turner announced plans to overhaul the line’s UK and Ireland ship visits last year to ensure agents got ’a true expedition experience’

First Class Holidays boss eyes 'gap in the market' with new cruise brand

First Class Holidays chief executive Daniel Gathercole told TTG he and his team have been planning the launch of First Class Cruise for the past 12 months