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Category: Uncategorised

New owners for GTO magazine, the Group Travel Awards, and the GO Travel Show

It has been announced that group travel trade magazine ‘GTO magazine’, the Group Travel Awards and the annual GO Travel Show, have been acquired by industry stalwarts, Chris Cheek and Jamie Cash.

GTO_logo_white_landscape
GTO magazine has new owners

The move comes as a result of the closure of Landor Travel Publications (LTP). Chairman and editorial director of LTP, Peter Stonham, has decided to step away from the group travel sector and work on other business ventures. Commenting on the news he said: “I’m pleased to pass group travel activities to Chris and Jamie as very suitable and knowledgeable custodians of these pioneering products. The Landor Travel Publications business will now be closed.”

Chris Cheek was one of the founder-directors of GTO magazine back in 1988, and was consultant editor for 20 years until May 2009, when he resigned to concentrate on other activities. Regular readers from those years will recall Chris’s columns on theatre and entertainment, the forerunners of the Make a Date section of the magazine.

Jamie Cash held a number of senior positions at GTO magazine for over 15 years, after joining as editor in May 1995. He helped to establish and then manage the Group Travel Awards, and took part in the whole range of LTP’s activities within the organiser community including its role in founding and then developing the GTOA (now AGTO, the Association of Group Travel Organisers).

Chris said: “I’ve always been very proud of the work we did in the early days of the magazine to help build a community for group organisers. I very much enjoyed my time writing for the magazine and meeting readers and members of the travel trade, and I’m glad of the chance to help take this all forward in the post-Covid age.”

Jamie said: “I’m delighted that Chris and I have been given the opportunity to take up the reins of GTO again, and I am really looking forward to connecting with old friends and making new ones within the world of group travel.”

It is understood that Jamie and Chris will be taking a little time to review the future of the magazine and its other activities, and will be making further announcements in the new year.

www.grouptravelorganiser.com

www.grouptravelawards.com

www.gotravelshow.com

CTA launches ‘WeLoveCoaches’ consumer campaign

A new consumer campaign that aims to encourage more people to consider a day excursion, short break or longer holiday by coach has been launched by the Coach Tourism Association (CTA).

The consumer campaign, which is being delivered primarily through social media channels, is using the umbrella branding ‘WeLoveCoaches’. The CTA says that this provides a simple and effective branding that is equally relevant to coach operator and industry supplier members.

The campaign, focuses on three core messages:
– coach travel is back
– coaches are safe, fun and social
– coaches are ready and waiting to take you on a great UK trip or holiday.

Travelling by coach also remains the most environmentally-friendly way to travel, after walking and cycling.

Coaches are one of the greenest ways to travel – Confederation of Passenger Transport UK

A new website, welovecoaches.com, includes listings of 124 coach and tour operator members across the UK. Each listing, shown county by county, carries full contact details, social media links, images, and video clips. The website provides a starting point for consumers to simply and easily find a CTA coach and tour operator member near them.

facebook/welovecoaches
instagram/welovecoachtours
twitter.com/welovecoaches
www.welovecoaches.com
www.coachtourismassociation.co.uk

Coach Tourism Association

Group Travel Trade Shows – updated

In a not altogether unexpected move, the GO Travel Show has announced it is moving (from April) to 8 September.

The venue remains the same – Kempton Park Racecourse in Surrey.

The move sees three of the UK’s four leading group travel trade shows taking place within a month.

Group travel trade shows look set to get under way in September.

The British Tourism & Travel Show takes place over the two days of 22 and 23 September at the NEC, whilst the Group Leisure & Travel Show takes place at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes on 7 October.

Running alongside the shows, the British Coach Tourism Awards takes place on the evening of 22 September at the National Motorcycle Museum, near to the NEC. The Group Leisure & Travel Awards takes place on 6 October in Milton Keynes.

The fourth UK group travel trade show, Excursions, will take place on 22 January 2022 at Twickenham Stadium in south west London.

www.gotravelshow.com
www.tourismshow.co.uk
www.britishcoachawards.co.uk
www.grouptravelshow.com
www.groupleisureandtravel.com
www.excursionsshow.com