Former Thomas Cook Sport boss Danny Talbot has joined tourism group Tourvest following the company’s plans to expand in the UK and European sports travel market.
Talbot was managing director of Thomas Cook Sport for eight years until 2012. Since then he has held a variety of senior roles at companies including sports sponsorship agency Kempster, and most recently he helped Rotary Watches complete its sponsorship deal with Chelsea Football Club.
He joins as UK managing director of AKA Sports & Events, recently acquired by Tourvest, and TEAM-DM, the group’s destination sports management division.
AKA Sports & Events is one of the largest global suppliers of accommodation, transport, tickets and hospitality packages to sports tour operators and travel agents. TEAM-DM is a destination management company, providing and running ground handling services at large sporting events. It has offices in Rio, Moscow, Lisbon, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Paris and London.
Both companies offer travel packages to individuals and companies as well as professional teams to major sporting events.
Talbot has been recruited to help grow the businesses. “We have ambitious plans to increase our foothold in the UK and European sports travel markets and I am thrilled to be joining during this period of growth,” he said.
Tourvest has 67 brands and employs more than 4,000 people. It formed a joint initiative with the South African Rugby Union, SA Rugby Travel, with exclusive rights to sell Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets and packages.