Finance

Travel mergers and acquisitions on the rise again, says advisory firm

Grant Thornton reports increase in the number of UK travel mergers and acquisitions in the third quarter

Halsbury Travel Group acquires venerable Scottish school tour operator

IBT founder Iain Black said he was “delighted” about the deal

Tui floats plan to quit London Stock Exchange

Shareholders tell Tui its majority German ownership means it no longer needs to be listed on the London Stock Exchange

Tui focused on becoming 'more profitable, more efficient and stronger' in 2024

European travel giant hopeful of growing earnings by a quarter next year, and revenue by a further 10%, despite a market environment that chief executive Sebastian Ebel characterised as ’remaining challenging’

On the Beach: 'Our B2B brands can disrupt the tour operator space'

Chief executive Shaun Morton has told TTG that despite On the Beach Group’s online-led B2C model, its agent-focused Classic Collection and Classic Package brands could help it grow its total market share

On the Beach's B2B growth 'slower than expected' despite long-haul and premium surge

The OTA has pinned the slow down on the B2B market becoming ’more crowded’ as ’tour operators and low-cost airlines compete for share of high street agent and homeworker business’

Travel Counsellors membership tips record 2,000 business owners

The homeworking giant has recruited 300 new members over the past year, taking its membership past 2,000

Solmar reveals it has taken on more than 450 former James Villas' properties

The Staffordshire-based specialist will go into 2024 with a record 2,000-plus properties in its portfolio across Europe and Florida following Awaze’s decision to close its James Villas brand

Heathrow owner Ferrovial sells majority stake for $3bn

Ferrovial has agreed to sell 15% to French private equity Ardian and 10% to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund

Travel businesses told to ‘shape their future before it shapes them’

Hoseasons former boss Richard Carrick has urged delegates to make forecasts with caution

'Specialists must treat the mass market as a barometer', Aito members told

Travel Trade Consultancy director Martin Alcock warns large operators could be forced to ’pull the levers’ if their growth in 2024 is lower than expected, potentially impacting specialists

Belfast's Travel Solutions sets out expansion plans following stellar 2023

Owner and managing director Peter McMinn said on Wednesday (22 November) the growth was a result of ’great loyalty’ from customers and agent partners alike

Advantage Travel Partnership sets aim to double cruise members next year

According to newly-appointed senior commercial manager Jonny Peat, the number of Latitude members will go up to 600 over the next year

Jet2 makes five-year commitment to invest in Moroccan tourism development

As part of the partnership, the airline and tour operator will work alongside Morocco’s tourism office on widespread marketing campaigns

Spending with agents continues to defy economic headwinds, new Barclays data shows

Year-on-year consumer spending with travel agents rose by 9.6% last month, while travel booking transactions increased by 12.3%

Jordan 'safe for tourism' despite proximity to Israel-Hamas conflict

Travellers, though, are putting off holidays to the country due to perceived instability in the region, Institute of Tourism webinar told

NCLH credits ‘relentless’ focus on cost base for record quarterly revenue of $2.5bn

NCLH’s earnings for the year, though, are expected to be lower than anticipated due to the wildfires in Hawaii and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East

RateHawk aims to turn UK into one of its top three markets

The online booking system has opened an office in London and doubled the size of its UK team this year

Advantage targets 'vigorous growth' of its managed service model over the next year

Advantage said members operating under its AMS model increased their turnover by 30% over the past year, while booking margins have gone up by 3%

Heathrow trims losses following hike in passenger numbers

According to newly appointed boss Thomas Woldbye, Heathrow’s “best days” lie ahead

Solos specialist targeting agents secures £5m to fuel growth plans

The £5 million funding comes after the solo specialist confirmed in the summer it would begin working with agents for the first time

Spending momentum ‘still with travel in September’, says Barclays

New figures from Barclays show spend on travel continued its healthy upward trajectory last month

Tui ups B2B focus further with new lead and commercial team for tours and activities

Nishank Gopalkrishnan’s team will work both on the distributors’ side – including OTAs and airlines – as well as the experience providers

Barrhead confident homeworking growth will continue into 2024

Director Linda Pyle told TTG on Thursday (5 October) she would like to see another year of growth around a third