FORMER Travelscene boss John Harding has
“unreservedly” apologised for the collapse of his
company last year.
Writing exclusively in Travel Weekly Harding said he regretted
the demise of the operator which affected customers, agents and
ABTA, of which he was president at the time.
But despite the company’s collapse, which left £3.5
million owed to around 2,000 creditors, he admitted he was
personally more hurt by the embarrassment caused to ABTA than the
loss of cash by holidaymakers and the trade.
“The members of the board are aware of my feelings and
they all have my abject apologies for what happened. I was the
first and only president to have to resign while in office,”
he said.
Stressing he was speaking from a personal point of view, Harding
added: “I always gave 110% to ABTA and I still will. Nobody
wants to cause embarrassment to an organisation they
respect.”
While Harding, now sales and marketing director of
Travel Trust Association’s accommodation-only website Trust
Accommodation, still
has great affection and respect for ABTA, he believes Martin
Wellings is the man to continue in the job and will be
re-elected.