City and finance

Payday time! The new booking trend more frequent than peaks (and just as lucrative!)

With turn-of-year peaks appearing to be ’flattening’, agency chiefs say they have identified a new emerging booking trend which is more frequent and just as lucrative

EU inches closer to autumn launch target for new biometric border rules

Planned introduction of the EU Entry-Exit System this autumn inches closer following series of progress milestones

Great Little Breaks moves to correct 'damaging' false reports it had collapsed

MD Diana Evans has hit out at two media outlets after they confused it with Great Little Escapes, which has ceased trading as an Atol holder

Great Little Escapes ceases trading as Atol holder prompting CAA advisory to agents

The CAA has issued instructions to the trade after Great Little Escapes and subsidiary brands ceased to be an Atol holder on 13 June

Brace for more unrest fuelled by Trump's TV agenda, travel warned

The UK’s former ambassador to Washington has said president Donald Trump’s desire to dominate news networks means he will not shy away from scenes like the disturbances in Los Angeles

Outbound travel 'as important as inbound', insists tourism minister

Sir Chris Bryant tells Abta’s Travel Matters seminar he regards outbound tourism as important as inbound, recognising the UK would not be so well connected without it – particularly in the regions

Can travel embrace AI while retaining its human touch? Plus, 12 other ITT conference highlights

The war for talent, travel’s stand on DEI, and AI’s coming of age were among the key talking points at the 2025 ITT conference in Sardinia this week...

Quarter of consumers now booking package holidays, according to Barclays' 10-year review

Barclays has identified an upward trend in package holiday demand and spending with travel agents in a report that reviews consumer behaviour over the last decade

Jamaica shares fam trip plans for agents as it joins Virtuoso

Jamaica’s national tourism office has announced a number of initiatives to support the UK trade following news of its Virtuoso membership

All change: how and why travel to Europe is poised for a reset

Despite recent efforts to forge closer post-Brexit ties between the UK and the EU, a new reality for British travellers awaits with biometric checks and visa waivers on the horizon

Watchdog to probe Kuoni parent Dertour’s deal to buy Hotelplan

Switzerland’s competition authority is to investigate whether the purchase of Hotelplan by Kuoni’s parent company Dertour would create an unfair monopoly for consumers in Switzerland following the announcement of the deal in February

Jetline Travel’s £4.7 million debts outlined in creditors’ report

Unsecured creditors owed part of the £4.7 million debt run up by Jetline are unlikely to receive any payments, administrators say, with only Barclays likely to receive the full amount owed and staff being the only preferential creditors

Advantage praises 'remarkable' members for driving record results despite 'challenging' environment

The consortium’s transactional turnover increased significantly to £155 million, up from £116 million, during its 2023/24 financial year, with more than 50 new branches joining the group during this period

Travel's 'big three' lay their cards on the table as peak summer beckons

With travel’s three largest operators now commanding nearly 50% of the Atol market, the fortunes of the few increasingly shape the environment in which the rest operate. Gary Noakes explores pre-summer trading

EasyJet holidays 'on track' to achieve £250 million profit target early

EasyJet’s in-house operator delivered £44 million profit during first half of the year, up £13 million year-on-year

Falling oil prices may mean cheaper air fares this summer, says easyJet chief

EasyJet boss Kenton Jarvis has said falling oil prices may offset constrained capacity this summer, leading to a drop in fares for his airline and easyJet’s package business

Three Baldwins Travel shops put up for sale by receivers as efforts to secure jobs continue

Three Baldwins Travel shops in Kent have gone up for sale after receivers were called in to dispose of the assets of the troubled agency chain following the loss of its Iata licence and Abta membership

UK pushing for deal on EU passport e-gate access to cut airport wait times

Move comes as UK seeks new post-Brexit deal with the EU

Advantage records five-fold £550 million increase in annual turnover

The consortium welcomed more than 50 new branches to its network during its 2023/24 financial year, who contributed to a £550 million increase in annual turnover, up from an increase of £100 million in the previous year

Tui claims market share gain despite reluctance from some families to book

According to Tui, some families were slow to book summer breaks but that there has been an uplift following the May bank holiday – although with a noticeable switch to cheaper destinations

Tui blames late Easter for increased second-quarter loss but sticks to full-year forecast

Tui has said the late Easter meant a €32 million shift in its profits for the January to March period, but insisted its full-year profit forecast remained on track despite ’challenging’ economies in its key sales markets

Classic Collection owner ‘confident’ B2B brand can return to profitability

Despite a disappointing start to 2025, Classic Collection owner On the Beach is hopeful the B2B brand will be back in the black in the second half of the financial year

‘The demand is there’: is the stage set for travel's biggest-ever summer?

After two major operators opened new airport bases and with Atol capacity reaching record levels, Gary Noakes explores this summer’s package travel trends

British Airways owner shrugs off Trump tariffs amid 'robust' demand for key routes

International Airlines Group (IAG) continues to enjoy ’robust demand’ for key transatlantic routes which continue to be ’a major area of strength’