News

National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions to enter river cruise market

The initial agreement with Transcend Cruises will run through to at least 2028

What made Richard Branson change his mind about Saudi Arabia?

Sir Richard Branson tells TTG he believes the time is right for Virgin Atlantic to start flying to the kingdom, despite its human rights record. Here’s why...

‘Destinations are reaching their limits, and we need to help,’ say top operators

Addressing Spain’s annual sustainability summit, Spain Talks, senior figures from Tui and easyJet holidays acknowledged the need to address overtourism in holiday hotspots by showcasing destinations at different times of year

Hundreds of Lincolnshire Co-op staff, including agents, awarded pay rise

The deal, negotiated by the society’s union Usdaw, covers more than 95% of the community retailer’s 2,800-strong team, including its agents

Jet2holidays confirms switch to new contact centre phone number

Operator sets out key change to the way agents get in touch

Former Travel 2 tours consultant Heather Hutton to head up Vista's new touring division

Hutton, who joined Vista parent Hays Travel from Travel 2 five years ago, has been tasked with building on the momentum the agency’s in-house tour operator has sustained since rebranding in 2023

Carnival Cruise Line pulls summer agent event ahead of UK office closure

The Carnival Corporation brand had been due to host ’DoverFest’ alongside sister line Holland America on 20 June

Overnight stays, keeping the engagement going and no more ‘herding’: how lines are changing ship visits

Earlier this year cruise line sales chiefs raised concerns about agents dropping out from ship visits, so TTG asked brands what they were doing to reverse this worrying trend – here’s what they had to say

Aito to widen membership to start-up SMEs with new associate scheme

Association has launched an associate membership scheme for start-up businesses that do not meet its two-year trading requirement

360 Private Travel to charge clients as part of new membership programme

The travel agency says its new model will give clients more control over their travel

Virgin Atlantic axes Heathrow-Tel Aviv route but retains El Al codeshare

Carrier’s flights to Israel’s second city won’t resume later this year as planned

Jet2 tells agents to expect summer lates market and 'modest' package price increases

Jet2 has updated its 2024/25 profits forecast and given its thoughts on the current summer market in a statement to investors, saying the late booking market persists

New Turkish carrier to start serving Antalya from Gatwick this summer

Another budget Antalya option has emerged, with flights starting mid-June

Spain and Portugal scramble to restore travel links following mass power outage

Some 185 flights due to depart Portugal on Monday (28 April) were cancelled, and 205 from Spain, amid the blackout

HX cuts emissions by more than a quarter despite 'unusual operating year' in 2024

Hurtigruten Expeditions cut carbon emissions by 27% last year, but noted results were skewed by the fact ships in the fleet spent time in dry dock

What's happened to the family market this year? And will it come back?

The family market has long been a staple for many travel agencies, but a drop off in forward bookings for the summer from families has left agents stumped – and concerned

Gatwick ready to accept stricter noise limits in bid to secure second runway

Gatwick has accepted a series of limits on noise pollution in a bid to secure the government’s permission to bring its standby runway into regular use, and also pledged to increase the number of passengers accessing the airport by public transport to more than 50%

Lorraine Adams stands down as Sandals and Beaches BDM after nearly 25 years

’Lorraine dedicated almost 25 years to our brands and we’re incredibly grateful for her hard work, determination and fun vibrant personality," said Sandals and Beaches UK sales and marketing representative Unique Vacations

European ministers agree phased approach to new biometric border rules

The European Commission said the EES will be rolled out over a six-month period to avoid teething problems, but has not set a new date for the launch

UK and EU ready to make concessions to establish youth mobility framework

UK government no longer ruling out an agreement with EU on youth mobility

Operators target Balkan Holidays customers affected by UK closure

The specialist tour operator on Thursday (24 April) announced it was closing down its UK operation on Thursday after nearly 60 years

Balkan Holidays ceases trading in the UK after nearly 60 years

All forward holiday bookings with the specialist have been cancelled

Carnival Cruise Line staff appeal for ‘new job opportunities’ ahead of UK office closure

Several members of the line’s team have confirmed they are looking for work and ’exploring all opportunities’ after parent Carnival Corp last week announced it would shut CCL’s UK office in May

Jet2 finally puts new Jet2Weddings brand on sale through agents

Jet2Weddings was launched as a direct brand late last year and is now available to agents to offer their clients