The Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas) has welcomed Andy Squirrell to its board, representing Titan Travel.
Squirrell, chief commercial officer at Titan’s parent, Saga Travel Group, replaces Giles Hawke, who has moved from Cosmos to join Celebrity Cruises as vice-president and managing director EMEA.
Titan Travel rejoined Atas in April as the operator sees travel agents as a “vital” part of its “ambitious growth plans”.
Squirrell said: “I am really grateful and delighted to join the board – I know many of the people already on there.
“There is a huge amount of passion and experience – they are an amazing group of individuals and I hope to play my part in the continued growth of Atas.”
He said he has been in the touring sector for 20 years and is looking forward to working with Atas director Claire Brighton and the board to build awareness of the sector.
More: Titan plans ‘extensive’ fam trip programme as it rejoins Atas
“I want to showcase the diversity of touring and adventure to agents and help them see what a broad range of suppliers there are,” he added.
“It’s a great opportunity to highlight the value of touring and adventure holidays – customers have high expectations and we do a great job to deliver that, along with great value for money.
“Titan will have more new products coming to market later this year – we’ve seen great support from the trade for our new private jet tours, which really demonstrates the importance of the trade.
“Agents at the Atas conference will be able to meet our trade team and see what a wide range of suppliers are available – there will be products that suit every type of customer.”
Squirrell also pointed out the role of Atas in helping to support training – especially with initiatives such as the ‘New to Touring and Adventure’ session that has been introduced to this year’s conference, taking place in Liverpool (October 10-11).
He said fam trips are vital to help agents understand what touring holidays are about, and Titan has plans for several in the coming months.
One fam trip will depart to Romania at the end of September, and there will be educationals to India and Croatia in the first quarter of 2024 – with more plans for other trips later next year.
“It is really important to get agents to experience our product,” he added.
He said the operator is still seeing a post-pandemic “wanderlust” as consumers defy the cost-of-living squeeze by continuing to book holidays.
“We are seeing good demand for lates, which is a bit unusual for touring,” he said.
“Several destinations are really standing out for 2024 and 2025, such as Africa and the Far East where there is strong demand.”
He said issues such as air traffic control chaos and airport strikes were not dampening demand – and in fact were highlighting the need to book with travel professionals.
“With Titan, we’re with the customer from the moment we pick them up from home,” he said.
Brighton said: “I am delighted to welcome Andy onto the board at Atas.
“We’ll really benefit from his decades of experience in touring and his enthusiasm for raising awareness of our exciting and growing sector.
“I know the trade team has lots of fun activities and some great competition prizes for agents at the conference so I’m looking forward to seeing them in Liverpool.”