Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer has hailed the make-up of the association’s new board after the confirmation of three new directors.
The election of Giles Hawke last month was followed by the appointment of Lady Minette Batters and Chris Wright at the association’s annual general meeting.
Batters, former president of the National Farmers’ Union and a crossbench peer in the House of Lords, spoke at Abta’s Travel Convention in Greece in October where she highlighted her experience of dealing with government and lessons for the travel industry.
Tanzer told Travel Weekly: “We had an opportunity to bring people in from outside the industry, and we’re delighted Minette agreed to join the board. There are a lot of common touchpoints [between travel and farming].
“We’re also delighted to have appointed Chris Wright as we wanted a medium-sized tour operator represented, and with Giles’ election we have a cruise representative back on the board.”
Hawke, Celebrity Cruises vice-president and managing director, was elected to the board to represent principal members with a turnover of £50 million or more.
He said: “Abta acts as a strong voice to government and it’s important this continues. Key will be ensuring Abta’s continued relevance to members and providing the representation they need.
“A major objective for me will be to take the learnings from listening to travel agents, tour operators and industry leaders and use those to help raise and maintain high standards of travel and to contribute positively to the UK travel market.
“Abta has a great future ahead of it, which is why I was so keen to be a member of the board and elevate my involvement in the organisation.”
Hawke added his work with Abta would be the “perfect complement” to his ongoing role at Celebrity Cruises, enabling him to “reach the wider travel industry and champion high service standards and fair-trading practices”.
Wright, Sunvil group managing director, brings 26 years of industry experience to the board having worked on various Abta committees and said: “It’s great to have the opportunity to step up to help shape our industry.”
Abta has still to replace former Tui UK managing director Andrew Flintham on the board, who stepped down when he joined BA Holidays in October. Tanzer said: “We expect to fill the position in the new year.”
Alistair Rowland, Abta chairman, welcomed the new directors and thanked Derek Jones for his service as he stepped down from the board, although he remains chair of Abta LifeLine.
Abta also announced the appointment of Roberto Balasco, currently head of sales at Kenwood Travel, as new head of membership last week to replace Danny Waine who will leave this month.