Vacation club operator set to go mainstream
European vacation club operator, Club La Costa, is to launch a mainstream holiday business and is seeking partnerships with the travel trade.
The move has come about with the help of former Hoseasons CEO Richard Carrick, who has been advising the company in a non-executive capacity since the end of 2010.
As part of the new direction, Martin Andrew has been appointed commercial and distribution director for holiday sales.
Carrick and Andrew used to work together at Airtours and Going Places before Andrew went on to senior management roles at Group RCI and Affinion International.
Andrew will report into Club La Costa MD Martyn Aldridge.
Carrick said: “Significant success has already been achieved in developing trade partnerships to sell Club La Costa’s inventory to holidaymakers and it will be Martin’s role to drive this still further, particularly with new resorts opening in Orlando this year and Turkey in 2012.”
Club La Costa was founded in 1984 by South African entrepreneur Roy Peires and has 28 resorts in England, Scotland, Austria, mainland Spain, Tenerife, Turkey, Australia and the US.
It manages 250,000 holidays a year um for its club members and guests and is now opening up its inventory to the mainstream market.
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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