TIPTO Appoints Newmarket Holidays’ Richard Forde as New Chair

Newmarket Holidays’ Head of Trade Sales, Richard Forde, has been appointed as the new Chair of trade marketing membership group TIPTO (the Truly Independent Professional Travel Organisation).  

He replaces Nick Hughes, who recently left TIPTO member Gold Medal to join Princess Cruises and who held the Chair role for 3 years from September 2019. 

Newmarket Holidays has been a long standing member of TIPTO since joining the organisation in 2010 – its 11th year of operation, and Richard has been part of the TIPTO Leadership Team and a very active member during this time. 

Forde has spent the past 24 years in travel, starting aged 21 as a Royal Caribbean photographer, working in sales roles for Reader Offers and Trade for Travelscope and Mistral Holidays before joining Newmarket Holidays 13 years ago, where he has built an award-winning team. 

Forde comments: “When Newmarket Holidays joined TIPTO back in 2010, we were welcomed into the group and we grew in stature with the trade and our agent partners year after year thereafter. TIPTO is a great body for both agents and suppliers to learn and grow together, sharing new products, trends and market information and I am delighted and honoured to be taking over from the strong work that Nick has done and to continue to assist Lorna as she expands TIPTO with more members and more events.” 

Lorna Willis-Edwards of Spirit Marketing and Events, TIPTO’s Management Company/Secretariat comments: “I’m absolutely delighted to welcome Richard as the new TIPTO Chair and look forward to working together in our 24th year of operation to further drive TIPTO in an exciting year of growth, and I know we will all benefit from his great support and commitment. 

“Myself and all the TIPTO members would like to express an enormous thank you to Nick Hughes who gave us immense support and a lot of his time over the past 3 years, which proved instrumental in keeping TIPTO running during and after the pandemic in 2020. We’re eternally grateful.” 

TIPTO has just announced its 18th member, Blue Diamond Resorts, with a further 2 operators in the pipeline to start in 2023. The group will be holding its nationwide Roadshows and Supershows as well as the Annual TIPTO Afternoon Tea in January and a VIP agent event in the summer for agents that support the group during the year. 

For full details, see www.newmarketholidays.co.uk