Escorted tours specialist to make 60 redundancies
Travelsphere and Page & Moy parent, Kaleidoscope Travel Group, is to make around 60 staff redundant to cope with contraction in the escorted tours market.
The specialist will be taking a thorough review of its entire operation over the next three months following a financial restructuring in December.
Group chief executive William Burton said: “As a result of the unprecedented market conditions that the travel industry is currently facing, we expect the escorted tours sector to contract by 20–25% in 2009.
“Although Kaleidoscope Travel Group has reacted quickly and performed well against the sector overall, we must adapt to reflect the realities of the marketplace in which we operate.
“Regrettably, it is anticipated that the planned restructure will lead to a net reduction of around 60 in staff numbers.â€
Once the restructure is complete, the group said it will refocus on growth through the launch of new products and potentially also by exploiting the strength of its balance sheet to acquire complementary businesses in the travel sector.
Kaleidoscope Travel Group employs 414 staff in the UK and engages a further 300 tour managers worldwide.
Its main brands are Travelsphere, Page & Moy and Just You, the escorted tours brand for single travellers.
It claims to be the UK’s largest escorted tours specialist, carrying around 100,000 customers each year.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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