Organisations & Operators,

Finn Partners has a new strata to their senior leadership team with the creation of the Finn Partners Travel Practice Advisory Board.
The founding members of the board are former United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) secretary general, Taleb Rifai, and David Scowsill, a former leader of the World Travel & Tourism Council.
Between them have over 60 years of senior leadership experience in the travel industry on the global stage.
The creation of the board was spearheaded by Finn’s global travel practice leader, Debbie Flynn.
Its aim is to bring together senior expertise from their global health, tech, public affairs and sustainability practices to further support current and future destination and travel clients on the road to recovery.

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Rifai was secretary general of the UNWTO, leading the body from 2009 for two consecutive terms ending in 2018. 
He has an extensive background in international and national public service, the public sector and academia and held several ministerial portfolios in the government of Jordan (2000-2004).
Scowsill spent seven years of his impressive career as chief executive of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and has developed an unparalleled network in both private and public sectors.
Prior to his time leading body, his executive career included leadership positions with Opodo, British Airways, American Airlines and Hilton. 
Peter Finn, founding partner, Finn Partners, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Taleb and David as the founding members of the new Finn Partners Travel Practice Advisory Board.
“Their knowledge, experience and connections in the travel and travel technology arenas will help us to grow this important practice and their insights will provide valuable counsel for current clients as we navigate our way through one of the most challenging periods in our history.”
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Youth travel expert Contiki has launched a new series of active, outdoor and city breaks around the UK for 2021.
The move comes as 71 per cent of its surveyed UK audience say they are making more plans to travel domestically in 2021.
Of these respondents, 38 per cent named Scotland as a destination they planned to visit, and almost 15 per cent wanted to experience the English National Parks such as the Lake and Peak Districts.
Following the sell-out success of two wellness weekends launched in summer 2020 – Surf and Yoga in Devon and Wilderness Glamping in Wales – Contiki has introduced nine new short domestic trips, from city breaks to countryside escapes, aimed specifically at the UK youth market.
Many of the new trips form part of Contiki’s new Detour range, a series of small group, themed and locally hosted immersive short breaks, often with an opportunity to learn a new skill, with each one designed to allow travellers to ‘detour’ beyond the ordinary.

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Given the small group size (minimum eight, average 15), these trips also offer the perfect opportunity for groups of friends to book out an exclusive departure just for themselves after many months of being apart, providing additional earning potential for agents to capitalise.
Donna Jeavons, sales and marketing director for Contiki UK & Europe, said: “When government restrictions lifted somewhat last summer, we dipped our toe in the domestic water with two new short breaks, a surfing and yoga weekend in Devon and a wilderness glamping trip in Wales.
“They were a sell out, so on the back of that success, and given continued uncertainty around international travel options this summer, we’re really excited to bring to market a wider selection of immersive trips allowing young UK travellers to explore their own backyard in the hands of local experts.”
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Travel Industry Alliance launches in UK

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Nine UK associations with more than 7,000 member companies have combined today to launch the Travel Industry Alliance (TIA).
The new alliance brings together associations representing the travel, tourism and aviation sectors, both inbound and outbound, leisure and business.
Key aims of the Alliance will be to engage with government on issues of the day and allow peer group sharing and discussion on their specific sectors.
The TIA have two initial and immediate objectives in mind which focus on travel safely restarting.
The alliance will seek to collaborate with government departments to:
Encourage the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to pull back from issuing advisories due to Covid-19 and become a purely informational source.
Enable travellers to access the UK without any quarantine, at the earliest opportunity, whether through pre-departure testing, test and release, or some other measure that helps restart travel.
Danny Callaghan, co-chairman of the TIA and chief executive of LATA, said: “Trade and consumers need to make informed decisions about where they can go rather than being effectively banned.
“The current FCDO advice is rather moot in most cases anyway because countries with Covid-19 problems will close their borders, making destination availability almost self-regulating.”
The TIA will be surveying their combined 7,000 member companies shortly to gather data which will reinforce their work in the future.
There are also plans for the TIA to join the Future of Aviation and their all-party parliamentary group, chaired by Henry Smith, member of parliament for Crawley, which includes Gatwick Airport.

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Derek Moore, deputy chairman of AITO and also co-chairman of the TIA added: “We know that any sort of quarantine on arrival will render inbound tourism impossible, which also impacts on outbound tourism due to reduced demand for flights, as well as harming the UK’s hospitality and retail sectors.”
Participating associations in the TIA include: AITO (the Specialist Travel Association) ATTA (African Travel and Tourism Association) BAR UK (Board of Airline Representatives) BTA (The Business Travel Association) CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) CTO (Caribbean Tourism Organisation – UK & Europe Chapter) LATA (Latin American Travel Association) PATA UK & Ireland Chapter (Pacific Asia Travel Association) and UKinbound.
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Black Tomato has announced the appointment of Emma de Vadder as director of PR for the company in the UK.
With 15 years of experience in travel and PR, she brings with her a wealth of experience from previous roles.
Having worked in-house for destination marketing organisations including VisitEngland and NYC & Company, along with some of the top travel PR and marketing agencies in the UK and in the USA, where she was based in New York City for nine years, de Vadder is well placed to take on this key role within the marketing team.
Prior to joining Black Tomato, she held the position as senior PR Director at London-based agency, MMGY Hills Balfour.
“We are delighted to welcome Emma to the Black Tomato family. Her experience and approach firmly align with our values and we are enormously excited to see her lead our UK PR plans in such a crucial year for the travel industry.

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“A natural in creating and sharing award-winning comms, she’ll be at the forefront of sharing the Black Tomato story to audiences, travellers, and publications on this side of the Atlantic,” said Tom Marchant, co-founder of Black Tomato.
Consisting of worldly travel experts who know the globe inside-out and relish the opportunity to share their knowledge with a global, highly discerning clientele, over the yearsBlack Tomato has pioneered some of the most radical journeys and experiences.
“Having long admired the work of Black Tomato as true innovators and disrupters within the luxury travel industry, I’m hugely looking forward to leading the company’s PR plans in the UK,” says de Vadder.
“Since launching in 2005, Black Tomato has grown to become one of the world’s most celebrated luxury travel and lifestyle brands.”
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The CAA has confirmed it will extend ATOL protection for new refund credit notes up to the end of March.
This means that consumers whose package holiday bookings are cancelled will be able to safely accept a refund credit note – where it is suitable for them.
Consumers remain entitled to a cash refund should they not wish to accept a refund credit note.
Protection for new refund credit notes issued had previously been extended to December and then to the January in recognition of disruption to the travel industry.
Paul Smith, consumer director at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “We recognise that changes to government restrictions on travel have an unprecedented effect on ATOL holders and on consumers with ATOL protected bookings.

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“In light of these circumstances, we have extended ATOL protection for refund credit notes.
“This will allow for travel companies to offer their customers refund credit notes in good faith and mean that consumers will not be at financial risk if they choose to accept a refund credit note rather than a cash refund.”
Credit notes must be issued for a cancelled ATOL protected booking, the booking must have been cancelled by the tour operator due to the coronavirus pandemic and the refund credit note must be able to be exchanged for cash at a later date.
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American Express Global Business Travel has acquired Ovation Travel Group.
The purchase includes all Ovation Travel Group brands, including Lawyers Travel. 
Ovation Travel Group clients and travellers will continue to receive the outstanding, high-touch service for which the business and its people have become so renowned over the last 36 years.
They will now also have access to the global reach, technology and expertise that comes with the powerful backing of American Express GBT (GBT).
Paul Abbott, GBT chief executive, said: “Since 1984, Ovation Travel Group has built a well-deserved reputation for providing leading travel management services to professional enterprises.
“In addition to the personalized service to which their clients and travellers have become accustomed, there will be new benefits that come with being part of the GBT family.

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“These include access to GBT’s proprietary technology platform and Supply MarketPlace, as well as our industry-leading products, data privacy, cyber security, and environment, social and governance standards.”
Ovation Travel Group and its employees will become a division of GBT’s Global Customer Partnerships organisation, led by the same management team. 
Paul Metselaar, Ovation Travel Group chief executive, said: “Extraordinary people and a culture of excellence have served as a solid foundation for providing our valued clients and travellers with a truly high-touch, personalised experience.
“These intrinsic qualities have enabled us to earn their business as their trusted travel partner for more than three decades.”
The existing Ovation Travel Group brands will remain in place.
The terms of acquisition will remain undisclosed.
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Master developer Nakheel hosted a company-wide Covid-19 vaccination drive for employees and their families.
The effort is part of a commitment to prioritise staff wellbeing and safeguard public health.
More than 1,200 staff and family members signed up for the scheme, with 150 people receiving the inoculation every hour.
Kieran Scott, executive director, Nakheel Human Resources, said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce is always our priority.

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“Our Covid-19 vaccination drive was open to all staff and their relatives, highlighting our commitment to putting employees first, and to supporting the tireless efforts of the UAE government in rolling out the vaccine across the country.”
Nakheel – which is the master developer of the Palm Jumeirah and other mega projects in Dubai – partnered with Tamouh Healthcare for the event, with 14 medical staff administering the Sinopharm vaccine.
Fahmi Omar, a general manager at Nakheel and one of the first to register for the vaccine, said: “I believe that we must all support the overall directives of the UAE.
“Getting vaccinated is a key element in the fight against Covid-19.”
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Jamaica tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett, has welcomed the opening of the first satellite centre for the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC).
Situated in Kenya, it will be located at the Kenyatta University.
“The establishment of this satellite centre at the Kenyatta University will expand the global reach of the Global Resilience Centre,” explained Bartlett.
“I am particularly excited as it will be a critical asset in enhancing tourism resilience and sustainability among east African destinations.”
Additionally, the Kenya satellite centre will be a focal point for developing, coordinating and supporting resilience-building and response efforts, Bartlett explained.
The centre was opened alongside Lloyd Waller, the executive director of the GTRCMC.
He added: “The eastern Africa satellite Centre itself forms part of a wider global network of centres around the world that collectively function as a global think tank to tackle global and regional challenges to the tourism sector through the sharing of information.
“Already, our joint efforts regarding tourism recovery have demonstrated the utility of such an approach to tourism resilience.”

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Established in 2017 and housed at the University of the West Indies, the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre has a mission to assist global tourism destinations with destination preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises.
It is focused on those incidents that affect tourism and threaten economies and livelihoods globally.
The GTRCMC has offices in the Caribbean, Africa, and the Mediterranean and affiliates in over 42 countries.
Bartlett also highlighted: “Tourism in east Africa is now in a better position to bounce back quickly after disruptive events.
“The need for tourism resilience has become more critical as threats become more common and the GTRCMC eastern office presence will further enhance the capacity of the tourism sector across 16 African countries.
“Ultimately, this centre will become a key catalyst for sustainable tourism development and ensure that global tourism can adapt and respond to the uncertainties of its internal and external environment.”
The satellite centre will focus on regional issues and will share information with the Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre.
It will then function as a think tank to develop possible solutions.
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