Organisations & Operators,

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 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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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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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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Businesses in the UK registered to the ‘We’re Good To Go’ scheme can now be automatically issued with the international ‘Safe Travels’ stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council. More

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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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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