Organisations & Operators,

Those working in the travel industry are gaining a new way to develop their careers, thanks to the launch of Progressive Travel Training (PTT).
Spearheaded by three experts in training and recruitment, Fi Morrison-Arnthal, Tony Macdonald and James Roberts, PTT is evolving the way agents and other industry professionals learn, and tourism businesses develop their staff.
Initially, PTT is offering agents a programme of 12 highly affordable and effective e-learning courses, authored by travel’s leading experts in their respective fields, and created to elevate the industry from within.
Three of the modules are available for free, including an important stress management course – a valuable asset to travel professionals, who have been working under such tough conditions during the pandemic.
Delivered in easy to consume, bite-sized chunks, accessible anywhere with a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection, and allowing professionals to visit and return to the learning at any time, the flexible training has been created specifically for the travel industry. ADVERTISEMENTPaid courses start from as little as £30, making them affordable to all.
By providing training that is either free or 90 per cent cheaper than traditional one-day courses, PTT’s founding vision is that travel professionals who might now be responsible for their own learning costs after being made redundant or going self-employed during the pandemic are still able to pursue their career development, and that employers who want to invest in their teams but have faced tough trading conditions over the last 12 months can still do so. 
The e-learning modules have been co-authored by senior travel industry experts and Progressive Travel Training co-founder, Fi Morrison-Arnthal.
Her extensive experience managing frontline agents, leadership in training and care for the sector make Morrison-Arnthal uniquely qualified to lead the design and delivery of online educational content that those working in travel really need to succeed and thrive in their careers.
She said: “It’s apparent that formal training and in-house trainers are a luxury many travel businesses and agents cannot currently afford and, while there is plenty of online training available covering destinations, product and GDS skills, travel industry employees are frustrated about the limited soft skills available.
“We have launched Progressive Travel Training to address that need, and to give back to the industry we love – sharing everything we know with a community that is ready to progress and come back post-Covid-19 thriving.”

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ABTA has called on the government to provide additional funding to travel agents following the shock decision to remove Portugal from the list of safe travel destinations.
The move effectively closes the outbound travel market from the UK for at least the next three weeks, leaving many agents nursing substantial losses.
ABTA chief executive, Mark Tanzer, said: “It is clear that the government’s domestic health strategy is continuing to prevent any meaningful resumption of international travel.
“You can’t build the recovery of a multi-billion-pound sector while mass market holiday destinations remain off the green list.
“The removal of Portugal comes on the back on what was already a very short and cautious green list.”ADVERTISEMENTHe added: “Travel agents and tour operators haven’t been able to generate income since the start of the pandemic and have been depending on the return of international travel to help bring in some much-needed relief.
“The government now needs to come forward with tailored financial support for the sector, which recognises that the travel industry’s recovery will be slower than that in other sectors of the economy, and takes account of the unique challenges businesses in the sector are facing.
“Travel companies are desperately worried that at a time when the market hasn’t opened up, they will shortly face increased furlough and business rates costs, with support being gradually withdrawn from the end of this month.
“It’s vital that the government doesn’t leave these businesses behind as it focuses on the domestic unlocking.”
With the next update to the green, amber and red travel lists expected toward the end of the month, ABTA argued for a large-scale reopening of borders.
Tanzer continued: “We need to see the government use the next review of the traffic-light system, on June 28th, to deliver meaningful progress towards restart.
“Ministers must use that review to finally take the steps needed to capitalise on the great progress of the vaccine rollout in the UK.
“For example, many countries have chosen to exempt fully vaccinated individuals from certain travel requirements.
“The government should also treat islands separately in the traffic light system and take steps to further reduce the cost of testing.”

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Hays Travel has acquired Explorer Travel, a homeworking franchise company.
For Hays, the new acquisition is an ideal fit with its homeworking model which has seen many individuals with good ideas progress to become successful independent businesses as part of the Hays Travel Independence Group.
Some 70 franchisees will join the Hays Travel Group from today.
Owner Steve Wood is leaving the travel industry to pursue other interests but wanted to see the business he created in good hands, so approached Hays Travel and discussions began a few weeks ago.
Hays Travel currently has over 350 colleagues working in its home working division.ADVERTISEMENTThe Explorer franchise model provides an excellent stepping stone between the traditional homeworking model and an Independence Group Member.
Dame Irene Hays, owner of Hays Travel, said: “John and I always thought Explorer was a great business and I was delighted when Steve approach me once he decided to leave travel to do other things.
“We have had a very good first meeting with the franchisees and we’re looking forward to helping them grow their businesses and to recruiting more people into our latest franchise model in due course.”

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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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