Travel industry news

New Costa Rica specialist seeks agents' help as it targets 'unique' niche

Cecropia Travel offers luxury voluntourism and tailor-made itineraries – and is on the hunt for agent partners

Sales and pricing withstanding ‘later than ever’ booking trend – Advantage

Advantage members’ revenue was up year-on-year during peaks and the first two weeks of May despite nearly 40% of bookings being made for departures within 12 weeks and consumers’ continued quest for value

Involved Holidays’ Richard Forde: ‘We need agents to distribute our product’

Walking specialist Involved Holidays has hired a familiar face to help it sell its products through the trade for the first time

‘Fail fast, put people first and never tolerate poor service’: industry leaders share the values steering their businesses

Kuoni’s Mark Duguid, easyJet holidays’ Paul Bixby and Princess Cruises’ Eithne Williamson joined a panel discussion at the Advantage conference to share the values that drive their teams

Advantage marks 30 years of service from Julia Lo Bue-Said with emotional tribute

The Advantage team surprised chief exec Lo Bue-Said with a string of messages from colleagues and industry figures at its annual conference in Malta on Thursday

Adore Holidays boss hints at further retail expansion after buying travel firm

The Essex agency has completed its second acquisition in the space of two months, buying Online Travel Group and its associated brands, including ski specialist Get Skiing

Iain Baillie, Celebrity Cruises, Corendon Airlines: all the latest travel trade people moves

Moves this week include Corendon Airlines appointing a new chief commercial officer and Celebrity Cruises promoting Christopher Barker to UK and Ireland field sales manager

Advantage records five-fold £550 million increase in annual turnover

The consortium welcomed more than 50 new branches to its network during its 2023/24 financial year, who contributed to a £550 million increase in annual turnover, up from an increase of £100 million in the previous year

Agents consistently resolving nearly 90% of clients’ travel difficulties, says Advantage

’After years of uncertainty, travellers want peace of mind – and that’s exactly what the travel agent provides,’ said Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said

Tui claims market share gain despite reluctance from some families to book

According to Tui, some families were slow to book summer breaks but that there has been an uplift following the May bank holiday – although with a noticeable switch to cheaper destinations

Tui blames late Easter for increased second-quarter loss but sticks to full-year forecast

Tui has said the late Easter meant a €32 million shift in its profits for the January to March period, but insisted its full-year profit forecast remained on track despite ’challenging’ economies in its key sales markets

New digital platform at the heart of Advantage’s first major rebrand for 20 years

New platform will make it easier for consumers to find their nearest independent travel agent, while a brand-new news and resources hub will provide content that ’reinforces Advantage’s position as an industry authority’

Value, culture and ‘destination dupes’: Advantage reveals the trends powering travel in 2025

Advantage Travel Partnership has highlighted the late booking trend among other issues in a state-of-the-nation update issued during its annual conference in Malta taking place this week

Baldwins Travel loses Iata accreditation and 'no longer Advantage member'

The agency, which has 11 branches primarily across the south-east of the country, failed in its bid to have its Abta membership reinstated in April 2025

TTG Media bags hat-trick of prizes at TravMedia Awards

Head of partner content Madeleine Barber picked up the Trade Staff Writer of the Year award for the second year running, but there were also two notable successes for the company

Manchester airport to expand Terminal 3 and close Terminal 1

Manchester is to become a two-terminal airport from next year following the closure of Terminal 1 which will be used to reshape and extend Terminal 3

Classic Collection owner ‘confident’ B2B brand can return to profitability

Despite a disappointing start to 2025, Classic Collection owner On the Beach is hopeful the B2B brand will be back in the black in the second half of the financial year

‘The demand is there’: is the stage set for travel's biggest-ever summer?

After two major operators opened new airport bases and with Atol capacity reaching record levels, Gary Noakes explores this summer’s package travel trends

Ascot Travel House blames dwindling sales for imminent closure

NAR UK, the agency’s parent company, will remain trading once the Ascot-based agency closes

Jet2holidays boosts funding for agencies with bricks-and-mortar ambitions

The tour operator has expanded its Scale Up Your Street campaign by increasing the prize money from £100,000 to £120,000 and extending the number of shortlisted agencies

Julia Lo Bue-Said: 'The impact of Trump's actions will ripple across our industry'

Ahead of the Advantage Travel Partnership conference, chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said assesses the myriad challenges agents currently face – and why they can increasingly be seen as the industry’s backbone

British Airways owner shrugs off Trump tariffs amid 'robust' demand for key routes

International Airlines Group (IAG) continues to enjoy ’robust demand’ for key transatlantic routes which continue to be ’a major area of strength’

'We have some amazing women in senior travel roles – so it's disappointing this pay disparity exists'

Barbara Kolosinska, co-owner and managing director of C&M Travel Recruitment, reflects on new figures from the company showing travel’s gender pay gap has widened again – particularly at higher pay grades

Heathrow outage: power restored seven hours before flights resumed, report reveals

The outage on 21 March affected hundreds of thousands of passengers