Former ABTA president dies
Ex ABTA president Eric Sutherland has died.
Sutherland was president of the association from 1983-1986 and held senior positions at Thomas Cook and Olympic Holidays.
He was also president of UFTAA (The United Federation of Travel Agents’ Associations) in the 1970s.
During this time, he was instrumental in getting IATA to raise airline commission from 8% to 9%.
ABTA said after retiring Eric remained actively involved in the trade in the Thomas Cook retiree club and was known for his affable, sociable nature.
ABTA chairman John McEwan paid tribute: “I had the pleasure of knowing Eric for many years. We worked together at Thomas Cook, where he occupied a numbers of senior positions and made a great contribution to the development of the business.
"Eric was a leader in the industry and played a prominent role in the development of ABTA. Eric will be sorely missed and our thoughts are with his family."
Sidney Perez, ABTA elder statesman and friend of Sutherland’s for many years, said: “I first met Eric when we worked closely together at Thomas Cook in the 1970s. Over the next 20 years my wife and I became good friends with Eric and his wife Penny.
"Both of them are now gone and they will be greatly missed. Eric gave unrivalled service to ABTA and even later in life was an active and adventurous traveller.”
Sutherland leaves behind a daughter, Chiara.
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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