ABTA

ABTA’s Travel with confidence campaign is in full swing this month encouraging people to book their holidays now with an ABTA member, following the initial drive in November. Here's how we're promoting booking with an ABTA member: 🏖️We've launched four customer testimonial videos (like the one below) to social media advertising on Facebook and Instagram, which have been running since Boxing Day and will continue until the end of February. 🗺️We will be launching advertising on TikTok this early January. 🌇We will be collaborating with influencers who will share content on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. 🛥️In mid-January, a second set of radio adverts will air across Heart Digital Radio, encouraging people to look for the ABTA logo and book with an ABTA member. Members can download the travel with confidence campaign videos for their own channels to help promote their ABTA membership. Download them here: https://ow.ly/HMW150UAhri

Jason Edwards Travel joined us in 2024 and our membership team supported him every step of the way. If you’re looking to join ABTA, it’s really easy to enquire. You get a first class service from the membership team and you’re speaking with someone throughout you registration journey. Hear from Jason Edwards about his experience and visit our Become a member page to learn more https://lnkd.in/eCE9sxUg

Travel-related fraud is a particularly unpleasant crime. For a number of years, we have worked in partnership with City of London Police’s Action Fraud to raise awareness and give advice. The campaign launched again this week with ABTA appearing on national ITV news as well as featuring in other media coverage. For more details read my latest blog: https://lnkd.in/einv8j6y

Today, we hosted our 🎧Advanced Complaints Management Training🎧, which provided guidance on how to effectively organise and manage the complaints handling process. 📚First up, we heard from Alex Padfield from Hextalls Law, who delivered an informative session on understanding legal responsibilities, sharing insights into the Package Travel Regulations and the impact on businesses. 🎯Alongside hearing from many experts, we had the opportunity to hear from Hayley Nicolls from TUI, who provided an interactive session which explored the difficulties in setting targets in customer service and how to measure the success of your team. 👏A big thank you to our event partner Hextalls Law and all of our attendees. Also a massive thanks to our speakers: - Charles Fachiri, ABTA - Alex Padfield , Hextalls Law - Diana Missoni, ABTA - Donna Mehmet, ABTA - Gemma Bassy Ambassador Cruise Line - Hayley Nicolls, TUI - Sarah Buckley, ABTA - Pete Quinn, Goss Consultancy Ltd

This morning, I attended the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Future of Aviation, Travel and Aerospace with my colleague, Oliver Clark, to speak about the challenges the industry faces when it comes to skills and training.  I spoke about ABTA’s #BePartofTravel campaign to promote careers in the industry and our strong links with our ABTA Education Partners, including our ABTA Student Reps mentoring programme and our ABTA Summer Internships. I also talked about our work promoting apprenticeships to our members (most recently during National Apprenticeship Week #NAW2025) and representing our members on the Aviation Industry Skills Board (AISB).   I mentioned the welcome recent changes to functional maths requirements for older apprentices recently announced by the Government and the hope our members have about flexible, shorter apprenticeships and what these might offer our sector. I noted that we would like to see further flexibilities when it comes to caps to spending on apprenticeships in costly qualifications such as engineers and pilots.  Our members would also like to see a smoother system for apprenticeship funding across the devolved nations as the current system makes it difficult to offer the same opportunities to staff across the UK.  I highlighted our collaborative work with the Travel Industry Skills Working Group on the development of a new, improved travel and tourism qualification for post 16 education and our hope to see this implemented soon, in whatever form that might take.  Oliver Clark spoke about the need for a youth mobility scheme (YMS) and how ABTA’s report had found a 69% decline in UK nationals working in temporary tourism across Europe. Our research has shown that 49% of travel industry leaders started their careers with an overseas season. It is a vital route for attracting young people into the sector. ABTA will continue to advocate for a UK-EU YMS agreement. Other speakers included Paul Oxley from ADS and Jonathan Clare from the Royal Aeronautical Society. It was clear that all the organisations represented were facing similar challenges. Travel and tourism is a significant employer and an attractive industry to build a career. ABTA will continue to work with our members and industry partners to promote travel as a career of choice and advocate for a greater focus on careers in travel from the Government.  NCFE David Rowley #ABTAStudentReps ABTA #IamABTA #apprenticeships #futuretravel #futuretravelprofessionals #ABTAEducationPartners Richard Toomer Dr Peter Robinson Alison Cryer MBE FinsTT FTS Helen Turner Sandra Kelly Lauren Broughton Andrew Clarke Peter G. Marsha Myles Chartered MCIPD Katie Rankin Claire Steiner ✈️ Danny Waine 🏖

Today at ABTA, we held our 📷Crisis Communications in Travel event📷, where experts provided practical guidance on how to plan and update your crisis communications strategy. 🗣️Sessions covered a variety of topics, including preparing for a crisis, managing immediate responses, preparing to speak on camera, social media do's and don'ts and much more. 👏A big thank you to all of our attendees and a special thanks to our speakers: - Graeme Buck, ABTA - Chiara Balachandran, 8020 Communications - Simon Calder, Travel Journalist and Broadcaster - Sophie Hunt, Insignia - Crisis Management Training, Planning and Consultancy - Ben McCarthy, LionbridgePR - Louise Pepper, FINN Partners - Sean Tipton, ABTA

Read our latest Partner insight from #ABTAPartner emerchantpay and discover why alternative payment methods (APMs) are no longer optional for travel success in 2025 and beyond. Learn how these innovative solutions can help you deliver the seamless payment experiences today’s travellers expect and secure your place in the future of travel. https://lnkd.in/e9Kr8JFF #TravelIndustry #ABTA

Great to attend Airlines UK annual dinner last night with my colleague Trudie Clements. Good to hear from the Transport Secretary about her commitment to aviation, decarbonisation and being a world leader in travel. Thank you to Rob Griggs Steve Kay and Tim Alderslade for organising a great event #IamABTA

👋Meet our latest cohort of our Regional Student Representatives We're working with our Education Partners to create meaningful connections for their students who are studying travel and tourism degrees. The student representatives are connected with an ABTA member in their region to help them gain valuable insight into the inner workings of the industry from experienced tourism professionals. For ABTA members, the initiative provides the opportunity to mentor someone who’d like to work in tourism and has a passion for travel. 🌟Mentorship opportunity 🌟 We currently have a mentor opportunity with a student studying at Sheffield Hallam University, which is one of our Education Partners. Please contact Vicki Wolf, our Head of Education and Career Development if you’re interested. Learn more about the initiative here https://ow.ly/uPny50V642L

Protecting customers from holiday scams 🤝 💰ABTA's Sean Tipton spoke with ITV News about the latest Action Fraud figures, revealing that more than £11 million was stolen from holidaymakers last year. With fraudsters using increasingly sophisticated tactics, ABTA is working to ensure holidaymakers can spot the warning signs of travel scams and book securely. In his ITV News interview, Sean Tipton highlighted key red flags, including unrealistically low prices and unlimited availability. 📺Watch the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/eg4u3Dgw At ABTA, we continue to work closely with authorities and industry partners to raise awareness of the warning signs and encourage people to book with verified ABTA members. People can easily check the company they’re booking with is an ABTA member by using our 'Member Search' tool on ABTA.com.