Travel industry news

Classic Collection to ramp up trade activity next year after 'transformative' 2024

More fam trips and educationals, new training resources and marketing assets and additional trade call centre support all in the pipeline, says B2B director Si Morris-Green

Is this Japan's most luxurious resort? Inside Hoshinoya Taketomi Island

Hoshinoya Taketomi Island is the perfect place to stay if you’re visiting the remote Okinawan village.

Video: Watch as Peta activist interrupts Abta event to protest Tui

Nathan Stower, Tui UK and Ireland’s head of public policy, was speaking as part of a panel at Abta’s Travel Matters conference in London on Tuesday when a Peta protester took to the stage – the second time in a month Tui’s stance has been protested at a major event

'No reason Classic Collection can’t double in size now,' says On the Beach chief

Shaun Morton, chief executive parent company On the Beach, has revealed what he has in store for Classic Collection following its restructure

Safari specialist of more than 25 years ceases trading as Atol holder

East Cape Tours and Safaris ceased trading as an Atol holder on Monday (2 December)

Travel bucks wider retail trends again in November, despite tough Budget

New Barclays research shows travel agencies doing very well, partly as consumers cut back on essential spend to save for luxuries

Inspire My Holiday aiming to connect agents with one million potential customers

The holiday inspiration platform plans to launch its ’Find An Agent’ service on Boxing Day which will give individual agents ’free exposure’. So far, ’hundreds’ of agents have signed up

On the Beach hails Classic Collection's return to profitability after restructure

Classic Collection has a ’significant opportunity to become the go-to B2B provider of Ryanair packages’, according to On the Beach Group chief executive Shaun Morton

Outbound travel now contributing more to UK economy than pre-pandemic

Outbound travel’s contribution to UK PLC now exceeds that of pre-pandemic, new figures from Abta estimate

'Business as usual,' says Scenic Group as Nick Hughes departs

Director of sales, partnerships and strategic growth departs, with Scenic pledging to ensure support for agents is ’business as usual’

EasyJet to trim domestic flight network in response to APD hike

Chief financial officer Kenton Jarvis branded Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s decision to increase the domestic and short-haul rates of Air Passenger Duty by £1 and £2 per passenger respectively not ’a smart move’

Jet2 to explore mid-haul routes and meet with Doncaster Sheffield

Taking questions from agents at the Jet2holidays conference in Paphos last week, chief executive Steve Heapy opened up on some of the airline and operator’s short-to-medium term planning

Search under way for Best Workplaces in Travel 2025

Entries open to find the best places in travel to work, with the scheme now progressing into its fourth year

Jet2holidays to offer agents daily prizes with return of Christmas advent calendar

Prizes will be given away every weekday between 2 and 24 December as TTG Media and Jet2holidays team up for a third year for the TTG Christmas Countdown

Just how much will the Budget cost the travel industry?

Labour’s first Budget since taking power has left businesses reeling, and travel was no exception. So to what extent could the reforms hamper growth for agents and suppliers?

AI search, space travel and Christmas in Cyprus: nine unmissable Jet2 conference takeaways

Jet2holidays returned to Cyprus for its 10th VIP agent conference this week, bringing with them a grumpy time machine to take delegates on a journey through all things Jet2 past, present and future

Heidi Alexander named new transport secretary after Louise Haigh resigns

Heidi Alexander – the MP for Swindon South – had been serving as a justice minister until her promotion to transport secretary. It came hours after the previous incumbent Louise Haigh resigned from her cabinet position

Abta names Danny Waine's successor and new board members

Roberto Balasco will join the trade body from Kenwood Travel on 13 January. In his new role, he will support Abta members and help drive the association’s membership strategy

Norse Atlantic to lease out six aircraft in bid to raise $462m after poor summer

Norse Atlantic Airways has confirmed plans to lease out nearly half its fleet in an effort to raise more than $450 million ahead of the winter season

Jet2 claims generational leap with new AI-powered search for agents

Airline and operator hails new AI conversational search functionality the biggest shake-up of search for 20 years

Black Friday driving 'mini peaks' as value becomes top consumer priority

’At the beginning of November, Black Friday queries were already up by 7.3% on last year – Black Friday is definitely a shift we didn’t have previously,’ Google industry manager Ailish English tells Jet2holidays conference

Black Friday: UK holiday fraud hotspot named after £12m hit last year

Police have warned consumers to be vigilant about holiday buying scams on Black Friday after fraud totalling more than £12 million was reported in 2023

Storm Bert: 'We're a little soggy but we're here to stay', says travel agency boss

Traveltrail director Charlotte Barnett will not move her agency business somewhere despite being hit by Storm Bert floods at the weekend

'My door is open': Tourism minister Chris Bryant reveals outbound sector opportunity

The MP tells Gary Noakes his role isn’t all about visitors to the UK and reveals how his knowledge of the outbound sector stems from his father, who built a successful coach operation to the Costa Brava.