From the ‘baptism of fire’ that was Shona Thorne’s first few months in business to becoming a social media sensation when her agency’s promo video went viral, Thorne Travel’s first 15 years have certainly been eventful. Rob Gill reports
Dublin-based Lucille Furlong pitched the idea of taking students from the Starstruck Dance Academy, where her son is enrolled, to Disneyland Paris after realising how lucrative it would be to book overseas trips for them
Weston’s career in travel started in the 1960s with Norwich-based regional carrier Air Anglia. He also worked for Anglia Holidays and Pickfords, and ran his own UK holidays agency in Norwich before joining Abta in 1986
Kevin Sinfield’s bond with former teammate Rob Burrow captured imaginations following Burrow’s motor neurone disease diagnosis, and has seen him raise millions for the cause
Recent moves include Jason Montague becoming NCLH’s chief luxury officer, while Abta’s former head of membership, Danny Waine, has launched his own consultancy firm
Ryanair is pursuing a €15,000 claim against a passenger whose behaviour caused a flight to Lanzarote to divert to Portugal overnight, causing 160 passengers to lose a day of their holiday
Five special accolades recognising outstanding service, giving back to local communities, making strides in sustainability, unsung team heroes and contribution to retail will be awarded
Plummeting temperatures and heavy snow have encouraged customers to stay at home so far this year, but agencies told TTG they hope things will change this weekend
Several airports, including Aberdeen, Liverpool, Manchester and Bristol, have been affected by this week’s heavy snowfall, resulting in disruption for travellers
New figures from Barclays reveal spending with travel agents grew by 7.5% year-on-year in December, an increase matched by only one other sector monitored by the bank
One agency boss told TTG Friday and Saturday (3-4 January) were the best days for sales in the business’s history, the latter being ’Sunshine Saturday’
UK sales manager Liz Shaw told TTG the hotel chain plans to make more ’random’ gestures of goodwill in the coming months as part of efforts to support travel agencies in the UK and Ireland
Travel Nomads, which has been set up by former Abta head of membership Danny Waine, will offer a suite of services to agents, operators and businesses throughout the wider travel and tourism eco-system
Former Tipto chair Forde, who was head of trade and partnerships at Newmarket Holidays, appointed to newly created sales director role at walking specialist Involved
The UK travel trade is remaining optimistic for the year ahead despite the geopolitical challenges threatening to put clouds in the increasingly clear skies overhead – team TTG explore what the new year has in store for agents
