Eliana Willis

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has appointed Jason Geall as senior vice president for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
He will take up the post immediately.
In this newly created role, Geall will expand his current responsibilities for the UK and Northern Europe to oversee the entire EMEA commercial operation.
Geall will continue to report to Andrew Crawley, chief commercial officer.

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As part of this new team structure, GBT has appointed Yorick Charveriat as vice president and general manager for France, and will be recruiting a vice president and general manager for the UK.
Before joining GBT more than five years ago, Geall was chief executive of online platform the Student Room Group.
Prior to that he held senior leadership roles in travel and technology companies including GetThere and Eurostar.
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The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has sent an open letter to UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, urging him to support its recovery plan for the travel sector.
It comes ahead of an expected announcement on Monday about a roadmap out of lockdown and for lifting restrictions.
The WTTC letter lays out four key principles needed to safely restore international mobility.
Firstly, an international coordinated approach led by the UK with public and private collaboration, to establish an international mobility framework which allows for the safe movement of people and removes restrictions such as blanket and hotel quarantines.
Secondly, it urges the UK government to move from risk assessments based on countries to risk based on individual travellers; thirdly, to reinforce health and hygiene protocols including mandatory mask wearing, in addition to the vaccination rollout; and fourthly, to provide a major government support package for the tourism sector.

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Following extensive consultation with WTTC members and governments around the world, WTTC also made clear there was strong and determined opposition to air corridors and that the UK could be in danger of ‘burning bridges’ with overseas governments looking to agree trade and other deals in the post-Brexit era, putting the UK at a competitive disadvantage.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC chief executive, said: “While we applaud the government’s incredible progress on the rollout of vaccines to combat the virus, the tourism sector is still massively exposed to the terrible impact of anti-Covid-19 travel restrictions.
“That is why we are calling on the UK government to take urgent action to support the sector, without which we fear tourism in the UK could face complete collapse.
“We have laid out a pathway using four clear principles for the government to navigate the tourism sector out the lockdown, and back to powering the UK economic revival.
“Our members and overseas governments believe that air corridors should not be reinstated, as they could put in jeopardy relationships with overseas governments who are looking to agree trade and other deals in the post-Brexit period.”
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Oasis Overland has ceased operations in the wake of the Covid-19 shutdown of travel.
The company specialised in small group expeditions by truck across Africa and other key overland destinations worldwide such as South America and Central Asia, alongside hotel-based trips in Pakistan, Bolivia, Peru and south-east Asia.
The news was reported by AITO.
Martyn Sumners, executive director of AITO, said: “Chris Wrede and his team had been in business since 1998 – more than 22 years – and joined AITO in 2008, just over 12 years ago.
“He was a valued member of the AITO family and will be much missed.”

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Oasis Overland had just launched a new and exciting 93-day long trip by truck through Africa, from Nairobi to Johannesburg, but Covid-19 restrictions as a result of the South African variant of the virus meant that it has now had to admit defeat.
Wrede said: “We are devastated to be unable to continue to trade.
“The past 11 months have been extremely tough, and the outlook is very bleak for our type of adventure until the world is clear of Covid-19.
“We are very sorry that we could not deliver our adventures as promised, and our thoughts go out to all our clients, loyal UK staff, leaders, drivers and the many local people and businesses around the world that were the bedrock of our adventures.”
Details of how to claim refunds from Oasis Overland are available here.
Other AITO members to ceased trading earlier in the pandemic include Cities Direct, based in Cheltenham, and London-based Tucan Travel.
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TUI Group has reported first quarter revenue for 2021 of just €468.1 million, down from €3.85 billion a year ago.
Due to travel restrictions around the world, the hospitality giant also saw losses of €699 million on an adjusted basis for the first three months of the year, compared to a loss of €147 million last year.
However, the rollout of vaccines in the UK and across Europe has begun to boost confidence ahead of the summer.
TUI said customer demand for summer 2021 was strong despite major uncertainties, with 2.8 million bookings already made, with average prices up 20 per cent compared to summer 2019.
The company said it was planning to operate around 80 per cent of the summer 2019 programme.
Fritz Joussen, chief executive of TUI Group, said: “As expected, customers will book their summer holidays much later this year than in normal years.
“However, demand remains strong, people want to travel – this is shown by the already good number of bookings for the summer.
“A look at the historically high savings rate in the EU also underlines that the scope for consumer spending is high.

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“The significant increase in spending on booked travel reflects this very clearly.
“Holidaymakers are catching up and are willing to pay more for their holidays.
“For tourism, but also for hospitality and cultural enterprises, this trend is a good signal.
“The market and customers are in the starting blocks; the demand is there. Everyone is waiting to earn their own income from the business again.”
Joussen added that the quick pace of vaccinations against Covid-19 in the UK could see travellers return to market earlier.
He continued: “Great Britain is economically a very important and large market for TUI.
“There, the vaccination campaign is progressing very rapidly; according to current plans, all Britons over 50 years of age are to receive a vaccination offer by the beginning of May.
“By mid-July, 75 per cent of the population there should have been vaccinated, so that herd immunity is achieved.
“This will have an immediate impact on the booking and travel behaviour of Britons for the summer of 2021.
“It also gives hope that the other European countries important to TUI will also be able to accelerate their vaccination strategies.
“In the transition period, rapid tests can play an important role, especially in tourism.
“We should use these opportunities wherever possible for the sake of the many millions of employees in the European tourism sector and the travellers.
“With uniform and reliable regulations on rapid tests, we can leave quarantine obligations and closed borders behind us.
“Rapid testing instead of quarantine is a demand of the travel industry, to which TUI also adheres.”
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Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed businesses in the UK will have an addition six months to pay back loans offered to help them navigate the Covid-19 crisis.
The decision means businesses can choose to make no payments on their loans until 18 months after they originally took them out.
The option to pause repayments will now be available to all from their first repayment, rather than after six repayments have been made.
Pay as You Grow loans will also enable borrowers to extend the length of their loans from six to ten years (reducing monthly repayments by almost half) and make interest-only payments for six months, in order to tailor their repayment schedule to suit their individual circumstances.
These Pay as You Grow options will be available to more than 1.4 million businesses which took out a total of nearly £45 billion through the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

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This is in addition to the government covering the costs of interest for the first year of the loan.
From today, lenders will begin reaching out to borrowers to provide information on repayment schedules and how to access flexible repayment options.
Sunak said: “Businesses are continuing to feel the impact of extended disruption from Covid-19, and we’re determined to give them the backing and confidence they need to get through the pandemic.
“That’s why we’re giving Bounce Back Loan borrowers breathing space to get back on their feet, through greater flexibility and time to repay their loans on their terms.
“Lenders will proactively and directly inform their customers of Pay as You Grow, and borrowers should only expect correspondence three months before their first repayments are due.”
Commenting on the news, Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said the decision would help struggling businesses.
She added: “This is a welcome announcement from the chancellor as the greater flexibility offered in repayment options will give valuable breathing space for many hospitality businesses.
“The overwhelming majority are under huge pressure after months of little or no income, with cash fast running out and an ever-increasing debt pile as a result of prolonged periods of closure.
“While this does provide relative respite for some, it’s important that banks are as flexible as possible in allowing hospitality businesses to access better terms and follow through with this announcement.
“Government has a role to play if this is not seen to be taking place.”
She continued: “The survival of thousands of businesses and the ability of the hospitality sector to play a full part in the nation’s economic recovery hangs in the balance.
“What’s urgently required is a clear roadmap to reopening, a solution to the ongoing rent debt issue that continues to cast a huge shadow over the sector, along with an extension of the business rates holiday and VAT cut.
“These measures will help give hospitality a fighting chance to get through this crisis, to grow and create jobs once again.”
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The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is calling for governments to abandon the concept of ‘high-risk countries’ and instead focus on how individual ‘high-risk travellers’ are treated at borders.
The body is urging governments around the world to shift their focus from whole countries, towards individual travellers.
Instead, WTTC says governments around the world should redefine their whole approach to risk assessment, to revive international business and leisure travel.
Combined with a common international consensus on the metrics used to assess risk and a laser-like focus on a cost-effective, comprehensive, and rapid departure and arrival testing scheme for all travellers, could pave the way forward for the meaningful return of travel.
It would also ensure only those affected are forced to isolate, while travellers who test negative can continue to enjoy safe travels through observing hygiene protocols and mask wearing.

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Gloria Guevara, WTTC chief executive, said: “Risk based on entire countries is neither effective nor productive. Redefining risk towards individual travellers instead will be key for unlocking the door to the return of safe international travel.
“We need to learn from past experiences and crises such as 9/11.
“We cannot continue labelling entire countries as ‘high-risk’ which assumes everyone is infected.
“While the UK is currently seeing high levels of infections, clearly not all Britons are infected; the same goes for all Americans, Spaniards or the French.
“The reality is much more complex.
“Not only does it stigmatise an entire nation, but it also halts travel and mobility when many people who test negative on departure and arrival could safely travel without exporting the virus.
“We have to recognise this reality and redefine the risk to focus on ‘high-risk’ individuals.
“We firmly believe implementing a comprehensive testing regime and the use of technology is the only practical way to restore international travel securely.
“Furthermore, a comprehensive testing programme will be less expensive than the economic cost brought on by blanket quarantines and lockdowns.”
She added: “This refocus would avoid exporting the virus and enable the free movement of travellers, while still observing enhanced hygiene protocols such as mask wearing and social distancing.
“We must learn to live with the virus, as it will take time for the global population to be vaccinated.
“This is why WTTC has long advocated introducing a comprehensive and cost-effective test on departure and arrival for all international travellers, as a way of preventing those carrying the virus from spreading it.”
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