Travel industry news

Hurricane Melissa: FCDO charters rescue flights as tour ops work to repatriate holidaymakers

Tour operators are working to repatriate stranded customers in Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Melissa as they thank travel agents for their support

'Help us help Jamaica': heartbroken agent launches fundraising drive after hurricane

Travel agent Paul Salisbury hopes to raise a 'five-figure' sum through his GoFundMe page to support Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa

Virgin Trains clears major hurdle to start competing with Eurostar

The train operator has won the fight for access to Eurostar’s maintenance depot, a crucial step in breaking the Channel Tunnel rail monopoly

Virgin Atlantic to launch UK's first scheduled direct route to Phuket

Agents will be able to book clients on direct flights from the UK to Phuket from next year.

'We had no idea what was coming': Agent spends four days sheltering from Hurricane Melissa

Well and Truly Travel agency boss Tania Nash is currently staying at the Sandals Ochi in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, to celebrate hers and her husband's 25th wedding anniversary

Trade-only Simply Cuba to spread its wings worldwide with new long-haul brand

A new long-haul brand by the team behind Simply Cuba is relying on relationships with travel agents when it launches during peaks

From flying brochures to mysterious bibles: are these the most haunted travel agencies in the UK?

From a medieval burial site just 20 yards from an agency branch's front door to spinning globes and shadowy figures, TTG speaks to agents ahead of Halloween about their shops' spooky goings on...

Why On The Beach is using Lord Kitchener (in a bucket hat) to insist: ‘Tourists – Spain needs you’

On the Beach has taken moves to tackle anti tourism protests – by putting up posters of the famous Lord Kitchener (complete with bucket hat) across Spanish resorts and the Canary Islands

Travel agent battles through the night to support client stranded in Jamaica

Travel agent Cat Sanders, owner of Over the Moon Escapes, lost contact with a client at Riu Negril while trying to help them evacuate the island.

Eastern Airways employee turned agent saddened as airline prepares to file for administration

Former Eastern Airways employee turned travel agent laments as the airline prepares to enter administration

Travel reacts as 'storm of the century' Hurricane Melissa approaches Jamaica

“Catastrophic” flash floods and landslides are “likely” in Jamaica, as the region braces for “storm of the century” Hurricane Melissa to make landfall today.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica and, whilst Melissa’s exact trajectory is not known, it is expected to bring “exceptional levels of rainfall” to the whole of Jamaica.

The UK government added there are estimates for up to 700 millimetres of rain, storm surges around coastal areas bringing waves of up to four metres, and winds of up to 135 miles per hour.

Agent: ‘I was on last UK-bound flight out of Montego Bay, Jamaica, before Hurricane Melissa’

Travel agent Sarah Heduan of Hedge Travel recounts the feeling on the ground and the atmosphere on her flight home, as the region prepares for 'major' hurricane, Hurricane Melissa, to make landfall today

Sandals Foundation Island Challenge raises £130K to support paediatric care across the Caribbean

Athletes raised more than £130,000 to support the Millennium Heights Medical Complex in Saint Lucia as well as paediatric healthcare across the Caribbean

Institute of Travel and Tourism secures new strategic partnership with Planet Technology

ITT's agreement with Planet Technology collaboration aims to accelerate communication transformation in travel within the wider industry – including the travel agent community

Travel agents told to 'continue selling' Thailand following death of Queen Mother Sirikit

Visitors – including travel agents – to the country are encouraged to wear subdued colours for 90 days as a gesture of remembrance and respect

3 travel marketing tips agents from Abta's latest Holiday Habits report agents can apply ahead of peaks

The 2025 edition is loaded with actionable insights travel agents can use to inform their marketing strategies for the year ahead, writes We Are Llama's Andrew Shelton for TTG

Experience It Now Travel lands fourth shop but maintains push for more homeworkers to future proof agency

The agency is targeting 100 more homeworkers this year and hopes its retail staff can continue to support the new recruits going forward

Riviera Travel hopes to attract agent partners with new 'always on' AI assistant launching next month

Travel agents using Riva AI can learn about Riviera Travel itineraries, get destination insights, source social media content, build emails for clients and find other sales tools

Airport expansion 'a serious risk' to UK's net zero ambitions, say MPs

Parliament's influential Environmental Audit Committee says industry can't be left to decarbonise on its own, and warns new technologies aren't a silver bullet

'We hope to open before Christmas': Beverley Travel hires ex-Ashley Adams staff and switches expansion focus following agency closure

Travel agents Natalie Codd and Royston Potter join Beverley after Driffield's Ashley Adams closed in August – and have already been making some stand out bookings

Travel firms must lobby all political parties before next election, says Labour peer – including 'serious force' Reform UK

Broadcaster and Labour peer Ayesha Hazarika says travel agencies must keep plugging away with their local MPs, mayors and councils despite the UK's 'febrile' political landscape

Heathrow expansion: final decision 'to be made within this parliament', government insists

Transport secretary promises 'swift and robust' review of rules governing airport expansion to ensure a final planning decision on Heathrow's expansion plans can be made by summer 2029

'Eurostar's new trains herald a new era for clean, connected European travel'

'People aren’t just booking more flight-free travel, they’re sharing the impact and inspiring friends to travel in ways that feel better for both themselves and the planet,' says Byway head of partnerships Paul Conroy

‘If I get in a bit of a tizz, it’s great to have another pair of eyes’: Travel Counsellors assembles support team for agent with dementia

A team of Travel Counsellors have rallied around Jenny Jackson, who is living with vascular dementia, after she switched to the homeworking giant