Opinion

There is a particularly haunting video on YouTube which comes to mind whenever I hear about plastic waste.

Some called it a “sunbed tax”, for others it was merely a clever PR stunt. Either way, it certainly got the British public and travel industry talking this week

Comment: All the signs predict 2018 will be... unpredictable

News and events are of course difficult to anticipate. But as this is my first article of the new year, here are some of my hopes and expectations for 2018

Comment: The three powerful secrets of clinching that sales deal

Leading up to Christmas, Mrs D and I sneaked in a cheeky week down in South Africa...

Leader: Tui's return to Tunisia shows faith in its safety

Twelve months ago a beach break in Tunisia or Sharm el Sheikh seemed a distant dream. The industry was gearing up for another year of pressure on the western Med as the popular North African hotspots remained off limits

Leader: Reasons to be cheerful?

As the sky above the London Eye filled with colour to welcome in the New Year on Sunday night, those working in travel could be forgiven for feeling a little less jubilant at the dawning of 2018

Comment: So who made my nice and naughty lists in 2017?

It’s that time of year when we are all working out who made the naughty or nice list. As I’m a glass-half-full person I want to start with my nice list

Leader: More than words?

Which word would sum up 2017 for you? For the Oxford Dictionary it was “youthquake” which best defined the year (no, I’m not entirely sure either)

Comment: Why it’s time to get technology savvy

The first time I used a virtual reality (VR) headset was with Azamara Club Cruises. The line was trialling the technology to showcase its sailings and onboard experience to both agents and customers...

Steven Freudmann: Time for action

The travel industry could be one of the most affected by Brexit – and ITT members are increasingly concerned at the lack of clarity over the negotiations

A wake-up call for the industry

The relationship between airlines and travel agents came under the spotlight at the latest TTG Industry Leaders Forum, held in London last week

Comment: Slots of confusion in a week with Monarch

The repercussions of Monarch’s fallout are still being felt – including the confusion surrounding the slots question – all of which has been keeping its administrators rather busy. Here’s how I imagine their diary might have looked last week…

Comment: Overtourism, and our role to make it stop

In the early 1990s, I remember an Aito meeting where a member of the audience asked a then very prominent member of the travel industry why he had developed low-grade accommodation in Turkey to force-feed visitors to a country just embarking on its tourism journey

Comment: Travel has a great deal riding on Brexit talks

The Brexit talks are not proceeding at the pace many had hoped for. European leaders think “sufficient progress” has not been made, so we haven’t even started talking about the UK’s future relationship with the EU – the bit that really matters

Leader: Struck by the numbers

Westminster might have been a little preoccupied with other goings on in the past few days, but Abta issued a timely reminder this week why the B word (Brexit) needs to remain firmly at the top of the agenda as its shadow (or light, depending on your position) looms

Comment: Don’t let a chance to be inspired slip away

When were you last truly inspired by somebody or something?

Comment Sue Kavanagh: ‘We need to understand how to adapt our career offering going forward’

It was my birthday recently (21 again) and it made me consider how many years I have been working in travel

Leader: Health and Safi is paramount

Another week, another chapter in the Monarch saga. This time it was the sad news that Essex-based Chadwell Travel had failed – affecting 18,000 customers – in what is thought to be the first Monarch-related trade casualty

Comment: How land trips open up the world of cruise

I still struggle to believe that it was only three years ago that I discovered the virtues of luxury cruising

Comment: Why cruise has truly torn up the rulebook

We are at the cutting edge, with our industry now providing guests with unrivalled opportunities and futuristic experiences

Comment: Success is about trust and empowerment

If you are reading this column, you may be either doing the most difficult job in travel and looking after customers, or supporting those people on the frontline looking after customers. I say the most difficult job because it is the one with the most responsibility

Leader: A self inflicted headache

“We apologise unreservedly” is not a sentence often uttered by Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary...

Comment: Why video games are playing on my mind

Should you get half way through this column and think “What a load of old…...” please don’t blame me...

Comment: Mud bath is worth its weight in clean water

On September 23, I will be doing something I have never done before – getting covered in mud, mud, glorious mud