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Josephides on being less vocal, lively debates and following in McEwan’s footsteps
Noel Josephides Q&A
You’ve always been quite vocal in the industry. Will we now be seeing a different Noel Josephides?
Yes, as chairman I do not have the same freedom of speech as I would have as an individual outside looking in. People have said to me that my freedom to say what I want is going to be curtailed. I am now a spokesman for the ABTA Board. I will have my opinions, of course, and there will certainly be lively discussions at Board meetings, but ultimately it’s a Board decision, not mine. All ABTA decisions are subject to a board. It’s not a presidential role where I can dictate. Those days are long since gone.
How do you feel about following in the footsteps of John McEwan?
John was a very capable chairman but I have a very different personality to John. We’re very different type of people and we have different styles. John has worked in large companies and I suppose I risk my own money every day, so I have a different view on how things happen and what it takes to make things happen.
What would you say to retail members who are worried that you are mainly a tour operator, not an agent
Nobody expressed any worries from tour operators about John McEwan being a retailer! I have a lot of support from retailers. We are a retailer ourselves, we have a small retail agency with a turnover of £1 million. I am very familiar with the worries of small retail agents, so I will definitely fight that corner as well.
Were you surprised by the result?
I knew it was going to be close, but it’s something that could have gone either way depending on the turn-out. I always felt my chances were better if the turn-out was good. 41% is pretty average, the same as the last election.
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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