Training day Crisis Communications In Travel 14 April 2026 09.30 – 16.00 Venue: ABTA, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ
Agenda 09:30 Registration, tea and coffee 10:00 Welcome and introduction from the moderator Moderator: Graeme Buck, Director of Communications, ABTA Graeme Buck Graeme leads ABTA’s external and internal communications, including PR and media relations, marketing communications and brand stewardship. Joining ABTA in 2020, he was previously Head of Communications for Waitrose & Partners. He brings to the role more than 25 years’ experience of working with major organisations. 10:20 Crisis management, planning and execution: the role of the PR team Preparing for a crisis and ensuring your communications plan is fit for purposeManaging remote teams effectivelyKey learnings and best practice Lorraine Bryant, Senior PR Manager, TUI Lorraine Bryant With a robust track record in strategic communications and media relations, Lorraine currently serves as Senior PR Manager at TUI, where she leads crisis communications with precision and clarity. Her career spans over 15 years in the travel and tourism sector, including senior roles at Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises, and leading agencies, giving her a deep understanding of brand reputation management in complex, high-profile environments. 10:40 How to manage and navigate the pressure from your C-suite, your team and the wider business Transparency in leadership during uncertaintyManaging executive expectations and setting boundariesBalancing internal communication with external messagingPost-crisis debrief: turning lessons into team growth Lorna O'Neill, Communications Consultant, On the Beach Lorna O'Neill With 20+ year career in public relations, Lorna has held senior leadership positions in travel businesses including Marriott, Hilton and Trainline. She was former Head of Communications at Thomas Cook Airlines and a core member of the corporate affairs team that managed the intense media and stakeholder scrutiny when the iconic British travel brand collapsed in 2019. Lorna founded her independent communications consultancy, Surge Communications in 2019, and has been retained by On the Beach since 2020 to lead corporate, issues and crisis communications for the Manchester-headquartered online travel company. 11:00 Networking tea and coffee break 11:20 Industry case study: Heathrow fire and power outage - responding when a crisis hits Hear how the team at Heathrow responded when a major power outage disrupted over 270,000 journeys due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation. The steps taken to deal with the initial crisis, the aftermath and key lessons learned.Honesty and transparency: sharing information in a timely fashionIdentifying what information to share and what not to shareLessons to be learnt when your response doesn’t go according to plan Hannah Smith, Senior Press Officer, Heathrow 11:40 ABTA case study: the role of the ABTA communications team in a crisis Insights from a recent real-world event and the role of the ABTA communications team in a crisis. Sean Tipton, Media Relations Manager, ABTA Sean Tipton Sean is one of the main spokespeople for ABTA with years of experience. Over the years he has made many national and local TV and radio appearances including BBC Breakfast, BBC News Channel, Watchdog, Good Morning Britain, ITV News, the Tonight Programme, Sky News, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News, Radio 4 Today programme, You &Yours, Moneybox Live, Sky News radio, LBC and Talk Radio. Travel is an incredibly varied industry and subjects he has covered have included natural disasters, failed airlines and tour operators, terrorist attacks, general consumer advice and phone ins. Favourite interviewer, Sky’s Kay Burley, least favourite, Piers Morgan. 12:00 Preparing your spokespeople Identifying and allocating roles and responsibilitiesCommon pitfalls to avoidPractical tips for spokespeopleSupporting the mental health and wellbeing of colleagues in media roles Jane Peverley, Group Head of Communications, Hays Travel Jane Peverley Jane Peverley joined Hays Travel in 2023 and leads the group’s internal and external communications strategies. She provides expertise on incident response - serving as a member of the incident management team – and is a strong advocate for ethics and inclusion. Jane is a Chartered PR practitioner with over 30 years of experience in communications and public affairs, gained across public, private, and higher education sectors. She is also a member of CIPR’s Equality and Diversity Committee and its Diversity and Inclusion Network. 12:20 Networking Lunch 13:10 Welcome back Moderator: Graeme Buck, Director of Communications, ABTA Graeme Buck Graeme leads ABTA’s external and internal communications, including PR and media relations, marketing communications and brand stewardship. Joining ABTA in 2020, he was previously Head of Communications for Waitrose & Partners. He brings to the role more than 25 years’ experience of working with major organisations. 13:15 Interview with a journalist Hear a journalist’s perspective on exactly what the media want from you when a crisis occurs.Top tips for working with the media in times of crisisImmediate actions when a crisis hitsBuilding strong media relationships before, during and after a crisis Claire Irvin, Head of travel, The Times and the Sunday Times Claire Irvin Claire Irvin leads the award-winning travel team at The Times and The Sunday Times. She has been a travel editor for more than ten years, during which time she has won awards not just for inspiring readers through quality journalism but for leading them through the pandemic and beyond. Previously, she was editor-in-chief of magazines including She, Company, Elle Girl and Sugar and editor-at-large of Grazia. Claire frequently appears on TV and radio including weekly on Sky News Breakfast, BBC, ITV, Times Radio and LBC. 13:35 Journalist Q&A 13:45 Practical exercise: crafting effective media messages How to engage and manage media interestPreparing for on camera and virtual interviewsAligning media priorities with your business objectivesBest practice case studies Graeme Buck, Director of Communications, ABTA Graeme Buck Graeme leads ABTA’s external and internal communications, including PR and media relations, marketing communications and brand stewardship. Joining ABTA in 2020, he was previously Head of Communications for Waitrose & Partners. He brings to the role more than 25 years’ experience of working with major organisations. Sean Tipton, Media Relations Manager, ABTA Sean Tipton Sean is one of the main spokespeople for ABTA with years of experience. Over the years he has made many national and local TV and radio appearances including BBC Breakfast, BBC News Channel, Watchdog, Good Morning Britain, ITV News, the Tonight Programme, Sky News, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News, Radio 4 Today programme, You &Yours, Moneybox Live, Sky News radio, LBC and Talk Radio. Travel is an incredibly varied industry and subjects he has covered have included natural disasters, failed airlines and tour operators, terrorist attacks, general consumer advice and phone ins. Favourite interviewer, Sky’s Kay Burley, least favourite, Piers Morgan. 15:05 Networking tea and coffee break 15:25 Making social media work for you Do’s and don’ts during a crisisIntegrating social media as part of your wider crisis communications responseOvercoming the challenges that social media can bringHandling social media backlash effectively and quickly 15:45 Maintaining communications during a crisis and post-crisis recovery Continuing to get your message across during an ongoing crisisThe role of post-crisis comms to protect and rebuild brand reputation and ensure a positive outcome Sophie Hunt, Director, Insignia Sophie Hunt Sophie Hunt is a director of Insignia, a specialist crisis management consultancy which works with clients including Cathay Pacific, Crystal Ski, Hotelplan and Virgin Atlantic.An award winning consultant, Sophie has more than 25 years’ experience in crisis management and crisis communication, working with businesses across a diverse range of sectors and geographies to help them do and say the right things under the intense pressure of a crisis.In addition to developing crisis plans and processes for leading organisations around the world, Sophie has delivered multiple simulations and desktop exercises on topics ranging from extreme weather events and acts of terror to cyber-attacks and employee misconduct. She is also an experienced media trainer.She works closely with senior leaders helping them to manage emerging reputational risks in their organisations and her passion is building long-term, trusted relationships with Insignia’s clients, many of whom have been working with her for more than five years. 16:05 Summary and close Graeme Buck, Director of Communications, ABTA Graeme Buck Graeme leads ABTA’s external and internal communications, including PR and media relations, marketing communications and brand stewardship. Joining ABTA in 2020, he was previously Head of Communications for Waitrose & Partners. He brings to the role more than 25 years’ experience of working with major organisations.
