PICTURES: ISTOCK
NEWS
THIS WEEK AT A GLANCE
Apartments Abroad:
fears more could fold
Accommodation-only
specialist Apartments
Abroad ceased trading
on January 21, prompting
predictions of more failures
in the accommodation-only
sector. Other bed banks
said Apartments Abroad,
which was one of the first
companies to launch in the
accommodation-only sector,
had failed because it did not
offer volume. Youtravel.com
sales and marketing director
Paul Riches said: “Much like
traditional tour operating,
you need to either have your
niche or be volume-driven,
not get stuck somewhere
in the middle.” On Holiday
Group chief executive Steve
Endacott added: “It is a
natural progression that the
number of players will shrink.
The bigger are getting bigger
and the smaller companies
are getting squeezed.”
Administrators fail
to find E-Clear funds
Administrators from BDO
have so far failed to find any
available funds in the assets of
failed credit card processing
firm E-Clear, which has been
accused of withholding
£100 million of its travel
clients’ money. The disclosure
raises concerns that there
will be no cash to fund a
full probe into E-Clear’s
business, as demanded by
Scottish politicians following
the collapse of Globespan.
BDO business restructuring
partner Malcolm Cohen
said work had progressed
with creditors this week and
computer data and files had
been taken from E-Clear’s
Mayfair offices. “Our initial
investigations indicate that
there is no immediate source of
funds in the company’s assets.”
Book show tickets
early to get 20% off
Delegates planning to attend
this year’s Travel Technology
Europe trade show are being
offered a 20% discount for
seminar sessions if they
register by February 5. The
show, now in its seventh year,
will take place at the Earls
Court exhibition centre in
London on February 9-10.
More than 60 technology
exhibitors have been signed
up for the show, which for
the first time will feature
a VIP conference for top
executives. As official media
partner, Travel Weekly’s sister
publication Travolution
will host four seminars.
g For more details, see
our preview feature on
pages 47-49 or go to
traveltechnologyshow.com.
Norwegian Epic to
sail Europe itinerary
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL)
will bring new ship Norwegian
Epic to Europe for summer
2011. The 4,200-passenger
vessel will sail 22 sevenday
cruises from Barcelona
between May and October.
Prices for the Epic cruises will
be revealed in March.
Norwegian Epic
will visit Naples
Cruiseline in talks
over Antigua security
Star Clippers is in talks with
tourism chiefs in Antigua to
find out what they are doing to
step up security on the island
after one of its passengers
was attacked and killed on the
Caribbean island last week.
Nina Elisabeth Nilssen, 30,
from New Mexico, was visiting
Antigua on the cruiseline’s
Royal Clipper last Tuesday.
It is understood she went
ashore for a midday barbecue
and strayed from the party.
Antiguan police said her body
was discovered on a secluded
trail at Windward Bay, near
Pigeon Point Beach.
BA staff to vote about
pay strike in March
Thousands of British Airways
cabin crew began voting this
week on whether to stage a
strike over pay and working
conditions. The ballot will
close on February 22, which
means the walkout could
begin on March 1, although
Unite has pledged not to
strike over the Easter break.
The airline wrote to its 13,400
cabin crew ahead of the ballot
to warn that taking industrial
action would mean the end to
some employee benefits.
Sector’s application for a National Skills Academy coincides with ble
Industry bids
EXCLUSIVE
Chloe Berman
The industry has successfully
pulled together for the first
time to submit a bid to government
to create a National
Skills Academy for Travel and
Tourism worth £2 million.
It comes at a time when the
recession is forcing travel staff
to seek jobs in other sectors.
Sector skills council People
1st worked with ABTA, the
Institute of Travel and Tourism,
Advantage Travel Centres,
TUI UK, Thomas Cook, The
Co-operative Travel Group and
Hoseasons to submit the bid to
the government on Monday.
Last year, the industry missed
the bid submission deadline.
People 1st strategic director
Phil Raynsford said the longterm
aim of the academy was to
“improve the quality of skills of
entrants and employees within
STORY OF
THE WEEK
C&M rehires ex
staff in upturn
A travel recruitment company
is rehiring staff it was forced to
make redundant at the peak of
the recession.
C&M Recruitment
business development
director Barbara Kolosinska
said the company was forced
to make 10 members of
staff redundant, starting
in October 2008, with the
bulk of redundancies being
made between January and
April 2009.
However, with an upturn
in the market she said
the company has already
re-employed two former
members of staff. One is due
to start next week, with
one returning in November.
The company is in talks
with some of the other staff it
made redundant and hopes
to bring more back on board.
Kolosinska said: “It is
absolutely fantastic.
“It is a positive message
the sector, and ultimately,
create a more productive and
profitable travel industry”.
The academy would address
the skills gap in the industry by
helping students gain apprenticeships
within small businesses,
promoting better communication
between colleges
and employers, and developing
management training
schemes for current staff.
Hoseasons chief executive
Richard Carrick said an
academy was essential for the
growth of the industry.
“The sector needs to build
its capability and become a
cornerstone for growth and
stability in the next 10 years,”
he said. “The new academy will
deliver talent for travel firms –
showcasing the very best.”
Kolosinska: ‘It’s a credit to the
way we handled redundancies
that staff want to come back’
that our staff want to come
back to us as it is imperative
that when you make
redundancies that they are
managed properly as it’s not
personal, it’s business.”
She said the recruitment
company first saw an
upswing in the market last
August, which had been
sustained ever since.
The committee will find out
in three weeks whether it has
beaten competition from at
least 20 industries to have its
bid shortlisted. The employers
would then make a presentation
to a panel of judges to seek
final approval.
The Skills Academy bid
comes at a time when many
in the industry are facing an-
Feelgood f
lag official
It could take six months for
much of the travel industry
to feel the beginning of a
recovery from the recession,
despite government claims
that the downturn has ended
and some positive news.
Economic growth was
recorded as just 0.1% in the
final three months of 2009
and unemployment figures
were lower than expected.
However, Andrew
Burnham, principal at
business advisers MacIntyre
Hudson, said there
was a “time
lag” between
economists’
figures and
business recovery.
“It could take six
months for people to feel
we are moving forward,”
he said. “However, a lot of
people’s buying habits are
about confidence and this is
a spark of optimism.”
Burnham warned that
the economy could contract
4 | Travel Weekly | Janaury 29 2010 www.travelweekly.co.uk
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