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    Greening joins On the Beach as non-executive director

    On the Beach Group has confirmed the appointment of former transport secretary Justine Greening to its board as a non-executive directors with immediate effect.
    Most recently, after leaving government in 2018, Greening founded the Social Mobility Pledge campaign in that year to drive grass roots change through business and higher education.
    Three years on, over 550 companies and 75 universities have committed to strategically drive social mobility through their respective organisations’ engagement with local communities.
    Greening was member of parliament for Putney, Roehampton & Southfields from 2005 to 2019 and spent eight years as a minister, including six in cabinet.
    Prior to her political career, she trained and qualified as a chartered accountant with PriceWaterhouse in the UK and Switzerland before taking a finance role at SmithKline Beecham followed by a strategy role at the newly formed GlaxoSmithKline.

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    Richard Pennycook, chair of On the Beach, commented: “We are delighted that Justine has agreed to join the board of On the Beach as a non-executive director.
    “Justine has had both a successful business career and an illustrious political career.
    “Her important work upon leaving government to establish the Social Mobility Pledge has been instrumental in changing the way businesses and universities think about social mobility.”
    He added: “As the travel sector recovers from the pandemic, we expect some fairly major reforms to the regulatory landscape.
    “Justine’s experience, in and out of Westminster, will be invaluable as On the Beach navigates these reforms and pursues opportunities to grow our market share both in the UK and internationally.”
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    Escape to Greece to launch to British travellers

    Escape to Greece will launch this month, offering bespoke holidays to 27 destinations in the country, with over 400 hand-picked properties.
    Aiming to attract discerning independent travellers looking mainly for four-star boutique hotels and eclectic villas, Escape to Greece launches under renowned ski operator, Holiday World.
    Holiday World has a stellar 23-year track record in the ski holiday market, is ATOL protected and has a reputation for customer service, online technology and value for money.
    Founder, Peter Brennan, said: “Escape to Greece has been born out of our love for Greece, its islands and the hospitable people.
    “We have personally chosen our properties from the simple-style Lemon Tree Houses in Folegandros to the latest in stylish luxury such as Cayo Resort & Spa in Crete with its minimalist tones and incredible design influences.

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    “Many of the properties are exclusive to us and our aim is to fill the gaps between the large operators who don’t offer the smaller islands and other Greek specialists who cannot always offer the depth of accommodation choice in each destination nor instant live availability.”
    Greece is primed to be one of the first destinations to open up to UK travellers.
    Holidays with flights are ATOL protected and accommodation-only bookings are secure thanks to the firm’s membership of the Travel Trust Association.
    “All of our range can be booked online or via our customer service centre with or without flights from BA and Aegean Airlines.
    Escape to Greece can also quote separately for low-cost carriers,” said Brennan.
    “During these uncertain travel times, we are also offering flexible flight options with most of the hotels providing rates that can offer free cancellation.”
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    IATA: Aviation is moving from bad to worse

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that passenger traffic fell in January 2021.
    The figures are down both compared to pre-Covid levels, January 2019, and compared to the immediate month prior, December 2020.
    Total demand in January 2021 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) was down 72 per cent compared to January 2019.
    That was worse than the 70 per cent year-over-year decline recorded in December 2020.
    Total domestic demand was down 47 per cent versus pre-crisis, January 2019, levels.

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    In December it was down 43 per cent on the previous year.
    This weakening is largely driven by stricter domestic travel controls in China over the Lunar New Year holiday period.
    International passenger demand in January was 86 per cent below January 2019, a further drop compared to the 85 per cent year-to-year decline recorded in December.
    “This year is starting off worse than 2020 ended and that is saying a lot.
    “Even as vaccination programs gather pace, new Covid-19 variants are leading governments to increase travel restrictions.
    “The uncertainty around how long these restrictions will last also has an impact on future travel.
    “Forward bookings in February this year for the northern Hemisphere summer travel season were 78 per cent below levels in February 2019,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA chief executive.
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    Abercrombie & Kent launches new confidence boosting measures

    Moving goalposts, changing travel guidelines and confusion over testing are now the norm for anyone planning a holiday.
    Luxury travel companies Abercrombie & Kent, alongside its sister company Cox & Kings, have launched a central place of information on how the trade can help their clients travel safely with their Book with Confidence Hub.
    The site includes travel corridor details, frequently asked questions, links to the current Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advice, and a host of other resources to aid the safe planning of a holiday.
    As restrictions are relaxed and holidays become possible again, the advice will be continuously updated.
    While many tour operators rely on third party suppliers, A&K is in a unique position, with over 55 offices across 30 countries, meaning guests enjoy the same experience throughout every stage of their holiday.

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    Kerry Golds, managing director, commented: “We know there is significant pent-up demand after months of travel restrictions.
    “Our trade partners and their clients are looking for reassurance and peace of mind for a stress-free holiday – something we have always prided ourselves on delivering.
    “That is why we have launched our Book with Confidence hub and our enhanced flexible booking policy for travel up to the end of 2022.”
    The Abercrombie & Kent hub can be found here, while Cox & Kings is here.
    More Information
    Breaking Travel News earlier spoke to Abercrombie & Kent managing director in the UK, Kerry Golds – take a look at her thoughts here.
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    New sales leadership for Travel Corporation brands in UK

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    New sales leadership for Travel Corporation brands in UK

    The Travel Corporation (TTC) has promoted two of its existing senior leadership team – Donna Jeavons and Chris Townson.
    The move follows the resignation of Rachel Coffey as director of sales and business development for Trafalgar, Costsaver Tours, Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold.
    In addition to their existing remits, Jeavons, director of sales and marketing for Contiki Holidays in the UK and Europe will now take the reins of Trafalgar and Costsaver Tours in the UK and Ireland.

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    At the same time, Chris Townson, managing director of Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection in the UK and Ireland will take responsibility for Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold.
    Townson will report into Ulla Hefel Böhler, global chief executive of Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold, and continue to report into Ellen Bettridge, global chief executive of Uniworld.
    Jeavons will report to Gavin Tollman, global chief executive of Trafalgar and Costsaver, in addition to Adam Armstrong, global chief executive of Contiki Holidays.

    Tollman said: “We continue to see huge potential for growth in the UK and Ireland, so it is vital we have the right people leading our brands in these markets.
    “For us, the succession path was clear.
    “At TTC, we are always proud to be able to give our existing talent the platform to step up, and we are delighted that Donna has accepted the opportunity to lead Trafalgar and Costsaver here.”
    The duo will take up their new roles with immediate effect, working alongside Coffey for a handover period to ensure a smooth transition.
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    WTTC urges faster reopening of UK tourism

    While the UK travel sector has been widely supportive of plans to life Covid-19 restrictions, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has warned the process may take too long.
    Prime minister, Boris Johnson, unveiled the plans on Monday, with a global travel taskforce to report on the reopening of travel on April 12th.
    The government would then decide on removing restrictions on international travel.
    However, this would not happen until May 17th at the earliest.
    While some businesses have already reported a surge in bookings, WTTC chief executive Gloria Guevara said delays could prove costly.

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    She explained: “While we welcome the incredible progress the UK government has made on the vaccine rollout programme, delaying the return of international travel until at least mid-May, could mean the tourism sector simply will not survive and struggling small- and medium-sized enterprises will just disappear.
    “The sector was banking its hopes on a quicker return to international travel, so there will be widespread dismay at this news.
    “Its return is crucial if the UK economy is to recover from the ravages of the pandemic, given the sector generates £200 billion to the GDP of the United Kingdom and supports almost four million jobs.”
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    IATA prepares to debut Travel Pass as aviation looks to reopen

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects its digital Covid Travel Pass will be ready for use “within weeks”.
    The pass – which was originally unveiled in December – is designed to verify a passenger has had the Covid-19 tests or vaccines required to enter a country.
    It also verifies they were administered by an approved authority.
    The industry body sees the pass as essential for reopening air travel, as many countries still have strict restrictions or quarantines in place.
    “The key issue is one of confidence,” Vinoop Goel, IATA regional director of airports and external relations, said.
    “Passengers need to be confident that the testing they have taken is accurate and will allow them to enter the country.

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    “Then governments need to have the confidence that the tests that the passengers claim to have is one which is accurate and meets their own conditions.”
    IATA said the Travel Pass – which it is preparing alongside Etihad and a number of other carriers – is designed in a modular way, so that it can work with other digital solutions that are being trialled around the world.
    British Airways, for example, is working on a separate, but compatible, VeriFLY solution.
    IATA said the Travel Pass will be available on iOS and Android platforms, and is expected to be free to passengers.
    “We are building the IATA Travel Pass with one aim – to help reconnect our world safely.
    “IATA has brought advancements in global standards like e-ticketing and mobile boarding passes to consumers in all parts of the world.
    “This unique capability demonstrates that we can work with industry and governments to re-shape travel processes based on global standards,” said Nick Careen, IATA senior vice president, airport, passenger, cargo and security.
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