Travel industry news

Agent credits quirky secondary business for family booking boom

Rachel Dartnall-Smith's 'crystal pit' and climbing wall, where kids can root through semi-precious stones, has proved a perfect foil to her agency business

'Don't fear ultra-luxury clients': how Not Just Travel agent Janet Lacey landed a £150,000 cruise booking

Lacey said final figure on the booking – already her biggest ever – could be 'much higher' after cabins details are confirmed with the client

AirAsia X to launch Gatwick-Kuala Lumpur route this summer

Malaysia's capital will become Gatwick's 15th Asian destination

'Joining TravCorp has been like putting on an old pair of comfortable slippers'

Former dnata Travel Group, If Only and Classic Collection exec Freeth returned to travel with TravCorp last year; six months on, he tells TTG he has every intention of growing the group's new trade division in line with its investment

Fred Olsen Travel snaps up neighbouring agency to expand portfolio

The founder of Ponders Travel will transition to a business development manager role within Fred Olsen Travel

Overtourism 'crisis' forces Japanese city to cancel annual cherry blossom festival

Residents have complained of chronic traffic congestion, litter and defouling from tourists

Tui Group targets lower end of the market with new European-wide budget brand launch

Tui Group chief executive Sebastian Ebel said it was 'more challenging' to get 'a decent return' in the lower end of the market during the company's Q1 results call

Tui blames £8.5 million Hurricane Melissa loss for masking 'best first quarter' in company's history

The European travel giant outlined bold growth plans for the year ahead including expansion into Romania despite suffering huge losses as a result of Hurricane Melissa

Your Endless Travel revives retail focus with new shop after homeworking division launch

Ross Griffiths and Luke Skinner teamed up in 2024 before launching a homeworking division soon afterwards but now the pair have opened a second retail premises

'Inspiration is not advice': is TikTok really 'Britain’s most powerful travel agent'?

'TikTok gives anyone the chance to be a ‘travel expert’, but an expert without accountability is just content,' says Lotte Gossage.

Beverley Travel to up focus on tailor-made and luxury business with fifth shop in 'affluent' suburb

The new store is just a 20-minute walk from the agency's original shop

Adrian James departs Gold Medal after 22-year sales centre to boardroom journey

Search under way for new product and commercial director to work across Gold Medal and the group's Pure Luxury, Cruise Plus and Incredible Journeys B2B brands

The Travel Network Group names new homeworking lead following trio of promotions

Gary Gillespie previously led Independent Travel Experts (ITE) for six years but has now taken on another role within in the company, with Kai-Yin Knapp stepping up and Stephanie Slark becoming chief operating officer

'Frustrated' Abta urges EU to make better use of contingency measures to overcome EES 'challenges'

Travel association says passengers' experiences of the EU's new Entry-Exist System have been mixed so far, with some people having no issues whereas others have faced challenges

Florida chief advises agents 'keep calm and carry on' as visitation defies headwinds

Visit Florida says it saw a 6% year-on-year increase in visitation in 2025 with 1.2 million UK travellers choosing the Sunshine State last year despite economic challenges and political uncertainty

Jet2 becomes latest travel firm to agree deal with Tui-owned Musement to its power experiences offering

B2C product will be made available to third-party agents at 'a later date', Jet2 confirms

Agents cautiously optimistic after cruise, long-haul and premium demand powers trade to 'best January in history'

Despite strong turn-of-year trading, three-quarters of agents tell TTG the don't believe peaks defines their year, while several operators – including trade-only Gold Medal – enjoyed strong Januarys

App-based agency My Kind of Cruise charts course to 100 homeworker cohort

Agency aiming to double its homeworking division in size from 10 to 20 by the end of February before growing it to 100 by January 2027

Designer Travel produces guide to help homeworkers navigate 'saturated' and 'competitive' marketplace

The luxury travel agency, which currently has 188 homeworkers, hopes its 17-page guide will help people make an informed decision about which company to join

'Clients ask if I ever sleep!': Meet the first £60 million Travel Counsellor

From redundancy aged 16 to setting up shop in a garden centre, Ed Pearson's near 30-year travel industry journey has taught him a thing or two about longevity

Blue Bay Travel secures multi-million-pound investment to pursue 'organic and acquisitive' expansion

The additional capital with support "innovation" and strategic acquisitions, according to Blue Bay Travel's founder

Agency bosses delay their wedding rather than their new branch after Disneyland Paris proposal

Chris Bordessa and Mair Jones have a busy year ahead relocating to a larger branch in Carmarthen while opening another shop in Tenby, not to mention the small matter of a Beauty and the Beast-themed wedding

New TTG podcast: is AI travel's friend or foe?

Episode five of TTG’s podcast Unpacked by TTG is now out, this time exploring artificial intelligence and whether it is travel’s friend or foe.

GoCruise & Travel franchisees open agency's fifth shop in one of the UK's smallest towns

The couple behind the launch, Karen and Mark Stanley, said it was 'a pleasure and an absolute dream come true to be able to do what we do best'