Travel industry news

Corneel Koster to succeed Shai Weiss as Virgin Atlantic chief executive next year

Chief customer and operating officer Koster to take over from Weiss at the end of the year, whereby Weiss will leave the business

Six in 10 travellers heading to Europe aware of new EU border rules ahead of Entry-Exit rollout

However, association warns of 'short-term delays', particularly at peak times, as system takes effect

Travel by B Corp launches initiative to encourage flight-free travel to Europe

Group wants to 'break down barriers' limiting flight-free sales and has created a survey to identify potential obstacles or put-offs

Aito resumes offering financial protection and begins welcoming first members

Association becomes third 'approved body' authorised by government to offer protection

Premier Holidays names Tamzin Lewis as new business development manager for the west

Lewis brings experience from trade-facing roles with Sandals and Beaches, and Riviera Travel

Travel's next big transformation, and nine other takeaways from the 2025 Abta Convention

Is cost or climate change driving shoulder season demand? What is social commerce? And will things actually get any better when Donald Trump completes his second term?

EU Entry-Exit: everything agents need to know as system goes live, including cruise and Eurostar latest

On Sunday 12 October new automatic EU border control checks will begin their rollout. TTG explains the key information that agents – and their clients – need to know

Inside Travel to step up agent incentive programme in 2026 ahead of new summer push

Asia specialist has been running a £25,000 cultural adventure promotion this year

'It doesn't happen overnight': Six InteleTravel agents share their journey to becoming business owners

TTG spoke to six InteleTravel agents to find out how they have developed as business owners since choosing the homeworking giant to kickstart their travel careers.

'We're all looking to grow': B Corps seek to dispel myth that being purpose-driven comes at the expense of profit

'It's shorthand for people to understand a business has a purpose and is the kind of business I want to buy from rather than just relying on a marketing message'

'Don't design the customer journey without first creating the colleague journey'

EasyJet holidays chief operating officer Matt Callaghan urges travel firms not to fall foul of errors in process that are costing the economy nearly $9 trillion

Madeira to host Abta Convention for the first time next year

Event will be held over 12-14 October at Funchal's Savoy Palace Hotel

Classic Collection's Jorge Quibell and Kim Sellman join Specialist Holidays Group

Group says new hires underline 'plans for trade expansion'

Operator says each salesperson now generates £1.5m since selling through agents

A move to trade sales boosted Exsus Travel’s bottom line, an Aito meeting heard.

Entries open for TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies 2026

TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies 2026 has now opened for entry to celebrate the very best travel agencies in the UK & Ireland

'It's a great growth opportunity for us': Tui ready to put more resource behind supporting third-party agents

MD Neil Swanson tells TTG more face-to-face support for agents likely in time for peaks as trade nears 10% of Tui's sales in the UK and Ireland

Operators reveal talks over return to Doncaster Sheffield as airport targets winter 2027/28 flights

'We're not ready to announce anything yet, but clearly it is something we are looking at and talking about,' Neil Swanson tells Abta Convention

Cost rather than climate change driving demand for shoulder season travel, Abta Convention told

Bosses of industry's two largest operators play down effect of climate change on demand for shoulder seasons

Rise of 'social commerce' set to transform how travel is sold over next decade

By 2033, social commerce – sales via social media channels – will be 10 times the size of Amazon today, Abta Convention delegates told

EasyJet holidays steps in to save Experience It Now’s conference after Classic Collection closure

The tour operator has replaced Classic Collection as sponsor of the agency's conference, ensuring the event can go ahead

Demand for travel continues unabated despite Trump's return and Israel-Gaza war

Around 95% of the 2,0001 survey respondents said they weren't discouraged from travelling overall as a result of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East or political changes in the US.

This figure is even lower for those who travelled abroad in the past 12 months, with 97% saying they would travel overseas regardless.

Around 14% of respondents visited the US in the last 12 months, which is no change from the year before.

Abta: Travel agents driving people's 'confidence and keenness' to travel

Chief executive Mark Tanzer praises role of travel agents in driving up confidence among travellers, despite a slight drop in people using travel professionals to book

'We want Intrepid Travel to be a household name – agents will play a big part in that'

Jo Reeve, Intrepid Travel general manager UK and Ireland, talks James Chapple through the opportunities for agents to grow in partnership with the brand

The Travel Network Group to launch new IT and payments platforms to members

The consortium has confirmed an introduction date for an updated IT system while also signing with a new payments platform