Abta

Founders to stay on with family-run agency of 40 years after sale

The agency was founded in 1985 by brother and sister Lee Tate and Lisa Halliday, and will continue to be run by Lee and his team

'We're our own worst enemy because we've re-educated the public to wait for deals'

Abta's annual Travel Trends conference covered the unwelcome return of late bookers, the rise of Queenagers and how to meet Google's AI challenge head-on

Revealed: the age group emerging as travel's most prolific and resilient holiday-takers

Abta's annual Travel Trends report has revealed that 25-34-year-olds take the most holidays and place the most value on their breaks, leading the organisation to brand them 'travel trendsetters'

'We all have a vested interest to ensure travel is truly accessible for all'

Catering properly for people's assisted travel a duty incumbent on everyone in travel, and makes sound business sense too, writes Abta's director of industry affairs Susan Deer for TTG

'A significant attack could put businesses under': Is travel the next big target for cyber criminals?

2025 has been marked by a succession of high-profile cyber-attacks – so how long will it be until travel hits the headlines for all the wrong reasons?

3 travel marketing tips agents from Abta's latest Holiday Habits report agents can apply ahead of peaks

The 2025 edition is loaded with actionable insights travel agents can use to inform their marketing strategies for the year ahead, writes We Are Llama's Andrew Shelton for TTG

Travel's next big transformation, and nine other takeaways from the 2025 Abta Convention

Is cost or climate change driving shoulder season demand? What is social commerce? And will things actually get any better when Donald Trump completes his second term?

'Don't design the customer journey without first creating the colleague journey'

EasyJet holidays chief operating officer Matt Callaghan urges travel firms not to fall foul of errors in process that are costing the economy nearly $9 trillion

Madeira to host Abta Convention for the first time next year

Event will be held over 12-14 October at Funchal's Savoy Palace Hotel

Cost rather than climate change driving demand for shoulder season travel, Abta Convention told

Bosses of industry's two largest operators play down effect of climate change on demand for shoulder seasons

Demand for travel continues unabated despite Trump's return and Israel-Gaza war

Around 95% of the 2,0001 survey respondents said they weren't discouraged from travelling overall as a result of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East or political changes in the US.

This figure is even lower for those who travelled abroad in the past 12 months, with 97% saying they would travel overseas regardless.

Around 14% of respondents visited the US in the last 12 months, which is no change from the year before.

Abta: Travel agents driving people's 'confidence and keenness' to travel

Chief executive Mark Tanzer praises role of travel agents in driving up confidence among travellers, despite a slight drop in people using travel professionals to book

CAA's head of Atol Michael Budge to join Abta as director of finance

Budge has been with the CAA since 2012 following a career in corporate finance

Only half of people aware of new EU border rules ahead of October launch – Abta

New data from the association shows that while awareness of the new requirements is growing, the industry still faces a 'communication challenge'

Outbound travel to add £10bn to UK economy over next five years, says Abta – if government backs sector

Outbound travel will provide more UK jobs, help regional airports thrive and add £10 billion to the UK economy over the next five years if it is backed by government, Abta has said in a new report

InteleTravel, Crystal Cruises and Tui: all the latest travel trade people moves

Moves this week include InteleTravel recruiting Advantage Travel Partnership’s Kelly Cookes, while Carnival Cruise Line’s former international sales director Luke Smith has joined an ultra-luxury cruise line

Tui, Riviera Travel, MSC Cruises: all the latest travel trade people moves

Moves this week include Attraction World Group chief financial officer Joe Hyland taking the top job, while MSC Cruises hires former Balkan Holidays RSM Natasha Smith

Iain Powell, Beverley Philpotts, John Wilson: all the latest travel trade people moves

Moves this week include Riviera appointing former Ireland’s Travel Trade Network (ITTN) BDM Carrie Day as its new Ireland country manager while Hurtigruten has promoted Iain Powell to chief commercial officer

Baldwins Travel ‘in hands of receivers’ as Abta invites claims for pipeline monies

The Kent-based miniple has had a challenging year so far, losing its membership of the Advantage Travel Partnership and Abta as well as its Iata accreditation

Baldwins Travel loses Iata accreditation and 'no longer Advantage member'

The agency, which has 11 branches primarily across the south-east of the country, failed in its bid to have its Abta membership reinstated in April 2025

Poll: Are the days of the printed holiday brochure numbered?

While there remains demand for printed brochures, this comes at a cost in terms of paper and plastic waste – and now Abta has tightened its guidance to agents and suppliers on brochures, so what’s the future for the iconic holiday brochure?

Holidays remain a 'top priority purchase' despite economic fears, says Barclays

Travel bucks the trend once again in Barclays spending survey as the bank says people still feel holidays are a top priority despite fears about rising bills and the effects of tariffs

'Disappointing' package travel shake-up 'a missed opportunity for meaningful reform' – Aito

Aito has said the proposed changes to the Package Travel Regulations do not go far enough in alleviating the industry of some of its regulatory burdens, while Abta is more welcoming

Lack of aircraft means higher air fares set to continue, industry warned

Leading aviation lawyer tells Abta Aviation Forum the lack of supply of new aircraft and leased alternatives mean consumers will face high air fares for some time to come yet