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Interview

Pippa O’Keefe leaves 360 Private Travel for new role at luxury competitor
The travel specialist speaks exclusively to TTG Luxury about her recent move to ASmallWorld. 
Corendon Airlines eyes Egypt and senses opportunities in UK regions
Six months into his role at the Turkish carrier’s UK country manager, Matthew Carpenter sets out his vision for growing into the UK market – in partnership with travel agents
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
Beverley Travel plans rapid retail expansion as Budget measures take effect
The award-winning agency has outlined plans to recruit several new members of full-time staff, plus apprentices, to work in the agency’s existing branches, as well as a new shop in an as-yet-undisclosed east Yorkshire location
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
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
Agent reveals fam-inspired 'add-on' that made £100,000 safari booking
Mark Davidson of Oasis Portfolio reveals how he sold the Kenya trip to a longtime customer who had previously taken more straightforward holidays.  
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Watch: Wheelchair-friendly AND luxury? Inside the top Irish hotel making five-star accessible
With its exceptional staff and spacious layout, Anantara The Marker Dublin proves hotels don’t need to compromise on luxury to accommodate guests like my brother. 
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
Agent lands ‘last-minute’ £110,000 French villa booking with string quartet and open-air cinema

A top agent secured a six-figure booking for a French rental villa – with just less than a month’s notice to plan. 

 

In partnership with onefinestay, the luxury travel advisor worked diligently to organise a family holiday for seven nights with a strict set of criteria. 

 

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
Hotels making ‘massive mistake’ by judging agents on social media following
Luxury hotels who undervalue agents are at risk of losing business – but influencers are not the ones to blame, says Duncan Greenfield-Turk. 
The Lux Collective to put ‘unexplored’ Chinese destination on agents’ radar
A Mauritius-based hotel company says it is determined to support the UK trade to sell its new hotels in a remote region of Asia
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.
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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. 
How Westoe Travel generated more than £150,000 from Newcastle's Carabao Cup win
The South Shields agency sells overseas breaks alongside travel for high-profile sporting events featuring the teams from the local area
Gold Travel Counsellor's No.1 rule for Gen Z daughter when speaking to clients
Top-selling agent Lisa Hillyard is keen to show daughter Amy that sometimes, the “old-fashioned” way of dealing with customers is best
The business development executive who ditched hairdressing to work with agents
Layla Davies, who works for Virgin Voyages, went to college to train as a hairdresser but quickly decided the practical side of the job wasn’t for her and she wanted to work in the travel industry
Homeworker Jenny Jackson was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2022
‘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