Idle Travel director Tony Mann hails Jet2holidays as funds raised in memory of wife

Idle Travel director Tony Mann has praised Jet2holidays for hosting a charity auction for mental health charity Mind in memory of his wife Andrea.

The auction, which took place during the tour operator’s annual travel agent conference, raised more than £5,000 for the Bradford district and Craven branch of Mind.

Mann said he was “really emotional” when Jet2holidays’ Alan Cross phoned to say the tour operator would raise money for a charity of his choice.

“What a class act that was,” he said. “With Alan and his team, they’re not only about business – they get to know people as people.”

He added that Andrea was a director of Bradford-based Idle Travel, noting: “It was a family company.”

He said it is important that people keep speaking about mental health.

“It’s about having that conversation,” he said, adding: “Everyone needs to be aware. It’s a difficult thing to deal with – there are no rights or wrongs.”

The auction, in which conference delegates placed bids for holidays, generated £5,800 for Mann’s chosen charity, plus a further £7,300 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

An agent also offered to donate an additional £1,000 to the Mind sum, which would take the figure to £6,800.