Organisations & Operators,

OECD ministers have endorsed a new initiative to promote safe international travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The initiative involves a safe travel blueprint and a temporary international cross-sectoral forum for knowledge sharing.
The forum will allow governments and stakeholders to share information in real time on plans and approaches facilitating travel.
The blueprint promotes greater certainty, safety and security in travel as reopening takes place.
It builds on existing initiatives and aims to increase interoperability among travel regimes.ADVERTISEMENTInternational air passenger transport dropped around 75 per cent in 2020 and international tourism fell by around 80 per cent.
For the average OECD country, pre-pandemic, international tourism contributed 4.4 per cent of GDP, 6.9 per cent of employment, and 21.5 per cent of service exports, but with much higher shares for some countries, including Greece, Iceland, Mexico, Portugal and Spain.
The halt in international travel and tourism is having a dramatic knock-on impact on the entire, interlinked global economy.
“The OECD is in a unique position to help countries coordinate international action in the context of reopening global travel,” said OECD secretary general, Angel Gurría, at a ministerial meeting in Paris.
“This initiative will help reduce uncertainty and complexity and enable countries to prepare more effectively for a return to safe international travel and tourism.” 
Without an international framework for travel policies, a patchwork of national and regional rules, inconsistent with each other, will continue to be confusing and costly for travellers and transport and tourism companies, discouraging travel due to the uncertainty and complexity.
It could also increase the incidence of use of fraudulent certificates and so undermine the ability of authorities to mitigate public health risks.
The blueprint is a flexible and voluntary set of guidelines not a legal text.
It consists of a traffic-light system to classify risks; guidance on how vaccination should be certified for travel to those countries that decide to take vaccination status into account; protocols for testing travellers in different circumstances; and principles to be followed in generating electronic certificates for travel that ensure privacy protection and security and promote interoperability among systems.
More Information
The full blueprint can be seen here.

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The Competition & Markets Authority has said it will take Teletext Holidays to court if it fails to meet a new deadline for customer repayments.
The government body opened an investigation into the brand and its sister travel operator, Alpharooms, in February after receiving hundreds of complaints.
This showed that people were not receiving refunds they were owed within 14-days, as required by law, for package holidays cancelled by the company due to the pandemic.
On April 30th, the CMA informed Truly Holdings, the company that operates Teletext Holidays and Alpharooms, that it was preparing to take court action against the firm for over £7 million in outstanding refunds owed to its customers.
Truly Holdings has now signed formal commitments, known as undertakings, that ensure affected customers still owed a refund will get their money back.
This includes a repayment schedule that prioritises refunds to customers with the longest-standing claims.
Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: “There’s no excuse for travel firms to delay refunding customers what they are legally owed, even in these extraordinary times.
“Companies should be doing the right thing without the threat of court action.ADVERTISEMENT“As a result of our work, customers who have waited many months for their money back from Teletext Holidays and Alpharooms will now receive a full refund.”
He added: “With international travel resuming and many people considering long awaited trips abroad, all package holiday firms must give refunds within 14 days where these are due, and should also provide clear cancellation information, so that no one else is unnecessarily put through this ordeal.”
Having carefully reviewed Truly Holdings financial information and how quickly it can realistically make the repayments, the CMA has accepted its commitment to pay back all customers owed refunds by August 31st the latest.
The timeframe that has been agreed balances the challenges experienced by the travel sector as a result of the pandemic with the need to get customers their money back in full as quickly as possible.
The company has also committed in its undertakings to refunding in full within 14 days any package holidays it cancels due to the Covid-19 pandemic going forward.
To ensure that the company adheres to its commitments, it has agreed to provide the CMA with regular reports on the progress of its repayments.
If the firm fails to repay customers according to the undertakings, the CMA said it was prepared to take it to court.
Rory Boland, Which? travel editor, welcomed the news.
He said: “It’s right that Teletext has finally committed to paying back the millions it owes in refunds, and as some customers have already waited many months, it must now do so without delay.
“If it fails to uphold this promise, the regulator should not hesitate to take strong action against the company.
“Other holiday companies should take this as a reminder that refunds for any cancellations from the past year, as well any future refunds, should be paid swiftly and within the legal time frame of 14 days.
“While there is still a chance of further disruption to travel, there can be no more excuses for the kind of lawbreaking on refunds we have seen over the course of the pandemic.”

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TUI Group has cancelled trips to a number of red and amber list destinations out of the UK until late next month.ADVERTISEMENTThe holiday giant will no longer be offering departures to Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Turkey, Egypt, Cape Verde, Morocco, Tunisia and Bulgaria until at least June 27th.
A statement explained: “We want to offer our customers flexibility and choice this summer, so where borders are open and Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advice allows travel, we will operate to those destinations as planned.
“We are constantly reviewing our holiday programme and cancellations in line with the government updates every three weeks, with the next update due in early June.”
TUI said all customers impacted by the latest cancellations will be contacted directly and will be able to request a full cash refund, or to change to a later date or alternative holiday and receive a booking incentive.
“We would like to thank our customers for their understanding at this time,” the statement concluded.

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Insight Vacations has welcomed guests to the first USA trip since the pandemic – Enchanting Canyonlands – introducing the new role of the wellbeing director for the first time.
The group was made up of travellers from the domestic market discovering the natural parks and open spaces of their own country, such as the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and Bryce and Zion National Parks.
With the USA typically accounting for over half of Insight Vacations’ UK business, the trip was an important step toward reopening.
The trip was Insight Vacations’ first with a wellbeing director in place, a new role that has been created by the Travel Corporation to provide an additional reassurance and logistical support around health and safety in a post-pandemic world.
At the same time, it allows the travel director to focus entirely on delivering a seamless guest experience.ADVERTISEMENTWellbeing director Carol Kendrick, who is also one of Insight Vacations’ most experienced travel directors, described it as “awesome” being back on the road and added: “Rules can vary from state to state, city to city and establishment to establishment, so it’s our responsibility to ensure that we know what’s required, and that guests know what to expect.
“Everything from porterage, to the way meals are served and how venues are operating can change daily.
“It’s these details that might seem small but can be confusing or contradictory, and we work behind the scenes to ensure that the guests don’t have to think about anything other than having a good time.”
Starting in Scottsdale, the seven-day Enchanting Canyonlands trip heads to the Grand Canyon – staying inside the national park itself and with dinner overlooking the South Rim – before travelling on through Monument Valley to Lake Powell, with accommodation in lake or marina rooms at the Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas.
Chris Townson, managing director, UK & Ireland for Insight Vacations, said: “Hearing from the fantastic Carol Kendrick in her role as wellbeing director really reiterates the value of travelling with an escorted touring operator like us, because we have both an on-the-road and an office-based team who are entirely dedicated to making the holiday experience as hassle-free and enjoyable as possible for our guests, who can just sit back and relax as we navigate the changing nuances for them.”

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Corporate Traveller UK is to be merged with Flight Centre Business Travel (FCBT) UK.
Parent company, Flight Centre Travel Group, has taken the decision to combine the pair in order to maximise investment in new technology, services and customer experience specifically for the small- and medium-sized business travel sector.
Established in the UK in 2005, FCBT was set up to meet the increasing demand from customers of Flight Centre’s leisure agencies for personal local business travel services.
In the UK, FCBT has around 2,000 customers ranging from individual business owners to larger companies who typically spend £50,000 to £1 million per annum on corporate travel.
Corporate Traveller launched in the UK in 1999 and has since grown to become the largest travel management company in the country, providing dedicated business travel services to 2,500 customers.ADVERTISEMENTCorporate Traveller has 240 staff at 15 locations nationwide.
FCBT customers will transition to Corporate Traveller together with 135 employees in operations, account management and sales.
Staff will continue to work personally with their respective customers within Corporate Traveller’s business to ensure seamless transition of servicing.
“Corporate Traveller and Flight Centre Business Travel have evolved as separate business divisions within Flight Centre Travel Group over the last 15 to 20 years.
“Both brands had grown to become extremely successful in their own right, providing personal service from dedicated consultants and technology solutions specifically suited to their respective customers,” said Steve Norris, managing director EMEA, Flight Centre Travel Group.
“However there were also many synergies.
“It therefore made business sense to bring these two brands together so that we can focus on investing in our overall offering collectively to enrich the customer experience, as well as retain and grow market share in the post-Covid era,” said Norris.
FCBT also merged with Corporate Traveller in Canada and South Africa.
The company continues to operate in Australia and New Zealand.

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VisitEngland is set to launch the next phase of its UK-wide campaign to boost domestic day trips and overnight breaks in the run-up to summer.
The project comes in partnership with the tourism organisations of London, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
The ‘Escape the Everyday’ campaign, which first launched in autumn 2020, highlights the quality destinations, visitor attractions and experiences on offer across the UK to build back demand for domestic breaks.
This next phase of the campaign ‘Escape the Everyday – Enjoy the UK this Summer,’ with the theme ‘reconnecting with people and places,’ has a focus on cities and city visitor attractions as well as regional gateways which have been particularly hard hit by the lack of international visitors and that rely on overseas visitors and their spending.
The £5 million campaign kicks off across the tourism agency’s ‘own’ channels with a short video and branded content across social media with ‘on demand’ television advertising from May 25th.ADVERTISEMENTThe paid multi-media campaign then ramps up as the summer season approaches and in line with each nations’ roadmap.
The campaign is also calling for tourism businesses, visitor attractions and destinations across the UK to get involved.
It comes as the tourism agency’s latest forecasts show that domestic tourism spending is estimated this year of £51.4 billion, just over half of the £91.6 billion in 2019.
Last year alone saw about two-thirds of the value wiped off the domestic tourism industry in Britain, a £58 billion loss to the economy.
The forecast for inbound tourism spending in the UK this year is £6.2 billion, less than a quarter of the £28.4 billion in 2019.
Tourism minister, Nigel Huddleston, said: “Our brilliant tourism and hospitality sector has faced unprecedented challenges over the past year, which is why we’ve already provided £25 billion in support, including £5 billion in VAT cuts.
“There is so much to see and do across the whole of the UK and our great cities have lots to offer.
“Whether you’d rather visit a museum or gallery, browse in a bookshop or enjoy first rate hospitality, I encourage everyone to get out there to explore our wonderful cities and support domestic tourism.”
A free Escape the Everyday campaign toolkit is available for destinations and tourism businesses across the UK with campaign information, ways to get involved and marketing materials that can be adapted to promote local products and services, attractions and experiences with the theme of ‘reconnection.’

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The Travel Corporation (TTC) is opening up its destination management company portfolio to other travel companies and businesses to white label and tailor for the first time.
The company, which operates brands including Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Contiki, Red Carnation Hotels, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and Evan Evans Tours, said the move was in response to opportunities made apparent during the pandemic.
Overseeing the project is TTC president, Gavin Tollman, who said: “During the uncertainty of the pandemic, we spoke to a number of our partners who were looking for an operational solution with the quality, knowledge, infrastructure, consistency and financial resilience to deliver on the ground in a new post-pandemic world – but they were hitherto unaware of the depth and breadth of our destination management portfolio.”
He added: “They were excited when they realised we could provide that solution across multiple destinations worldwide, affording them deeper access to the award-winning expertise and service for which our brands are well recognised.
“By launching a dedicated website and a series of new tools outlining the extent of our offering, and the financial strength that supports it, we hope to be able to present this hassle-free and risk-free opportunity to a wider range of leisure and corporate travel businesses.”ADVERTISEMENTTTC has twelve destination management companies offering holidays, local experiences, corporate travel and ancillary services across Africa, Europe, the Americas and the South Pacific.
The company already operates as ground handler for a number of internationally recognised travel brands.
Realising the potential to expand and grow in this space, a new website, marketing assets and training will bring the range of experiences, global footprint and financial benefits to life.

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English Tourism Week is fast approaching with this year’s week dedicated to showing support for tourism businesses and destinations across the sector as they reopen and start to rebuild.
Coordinated by VisitEngland and taking place from 22 to 31 May, English Tourism Week is an annual celebration of the tourism industry, highlighting its economic importance to local economies and promoting the innovation, quality and range of products and services on offer to encourage more domestic breaks.
It comes as the tourism agency’s latest forecasts show that domestic tourism spending is estimated this year of £51.4 billion, just over half of the £91.6 billion in 2019.
Last year alone saw about two-thirds of the value wiped off the domestic tourism industry, a £58 billion loss to the economy.
Tourism minister, Nigel Huddleston, said: “The tourism sector has undoubtedly faced enormous challenges over the past year. ADVERTISEMENT“This is why we have provided over £25 billion in support to date, including the unprecedented VAT cut.
“Tourism and hospitality businesses across the country have continually impressed me with their ability to adapt over the past year and I know they’re all ready to welcome us back.
“English tourism has so much to offer, from rural retreats to city breaks.
“I can’t wait to get out there exploring and I urge everyone to join me in supporting our fantastic tourism sector by taking a domestic holiday over the coming months.”
In the lead-up to English Tourism Week and throughout VisitEngland is encouraging people to share photos and social media posts to show support for the sector using #EnglishTourismWeek21.
VisitEngland has also produced toolkits and a series of posters for tourism businesses and destinations to download and get involved in the week, promoting their local products and services, attractions and experiences.
VisitEngland and local destinations are also asking MPs, local authorities, the UK government and other stakeholders to get involved and show their support by visiting local businesses and attractions during the week.
VisitEngland director, Andrew Stokes, said: “Our annual event to celebrate and champion English tourism has never been more important, providing a timely opportunity to show the outstanding offer here on our doorstep as we head in to the critical summer season and to support local businesses and visitor attractions, who have lost months of vital trading, as they reopen and rebuild.
“By highlighting the quality and sheer diversity of tourism products, destinations and experiences across England we also hope people will consider an extra holiday at home this year, exploring somewhere new, revisiting a favourite attraction or taking a city-break.
“With international tourists slower to return this is also the year to rediscover the crown jewels of English tourism in our vibrant city centres.
“Millions of jobs and local economies rely on tourism and businesses and destinations have been working flat-out, innovating and adapting to safely welcome visitors back and making sure they have a great experience.
“They will be very pleased to see you.”

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