23 July 2008

New names on ABTA board

ABTA has appointed two new board members.

Virgin Holidays sales and operations director Stewart Baird and marketing and product director of TUI Travel UK Tim Williamson will join with immediate effect.

Baird was part of the FTO team that worked on the ABTA/FTO merger and sat on the FTO board between 2004 and 2008.

He said: "I am delighted to accept the position on behalf of FTO members and feel the new ABTA organisation can drive significant change through the industry and provide real value for its members. I was excited by the prospect of bringing the FTO and ABTA together, and although this change will see challenges, I am committed with the rest of the Board to driving integration and delivering the benefits to all members and to the sector as a whole."

Williamson, who has also served on the FTO board, added: "The merger of ABTA and FTO holds some great challenges and massive opportunities for us all. The combined body will be far better placed to represent the needs of its industry-wide members and will be in a much stronger position to be taken even more seriously by government. That can only be a good thing, allowing us to ensure that those making legislative decisions about the future of our industry understand more about the market in which we operate. I'm looking forward to working with the rest of the ABTA Board in ensuring we create a strong and effective trade association that the whole industry is proud of."

By Dinah Hatch