Transun
Industry | Tour operator |
---|---|
Founded | 1982 |
Headquarters | London, UK |
Key people | Paul Kostich, James Crawshaw |
Products | Travel experiences |
Website | http://www.transun.co.uk/ |
Transun is an independent tour operator established in 1982 and based in the UK.[1]
History
Transun was established in 1982 by Yugoslavian-born Paul Kostich, who founded the company at the age of 30. He had started working as a tour guide in India, East Africa, China, and Thailand at the age of 18, and was working in the airline industry in London when he founded Transun. He began with offering tours to Yugoslavia, then diversified into a number of different excursions throughout Europe.[2] He now serves as the company’s President.[3]
The company grew throughout the 1990s and early 2000s to include travel experiences and day trips to destinations such as Lapland,[4] Cairo,[5] Marrakesh, Bergen, and Florence.[6] They also began establishing relationships with airports throughout the UK in order to charter flights to these and other destinations. In the mid-1990s, Transun was the first operator to run flights to New York from regional UK airports such as Leeds Bradford, Belfast, Aberdeen and Liverpool.[7] The company received special attention at the World Travel Market in 2002 for its travel offerings to Thailand, receiving a visit from Her Royal Highness Princess Ubolratana of the kingdom of Thailand, as well as Thailand’s Minister of Tourism Sontaya Kunplome. Both were interested in Transun’s focus on Koh Samui as a primary destination for the company’s travel packages.[8]
In the late 1990s and early 2000s Transun promoted tourism to the territories impacted by the Yugoslav Wars. The company promoted travel to places in the Balkans such as Croatia and Slovenia, and joined other operators in criticizing the Croatia National Tourist Office for its lack of support.[9] Their efforts became a topic of several academic studies of tourism in the region.[10][11]
Transun opened offices in
Lapland
Transun’s UK company is known as a ‘Lapland specialist’ and is licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority (United Kingdom) to operate flights to Lapland.[13] Many of the holidays focus on seeing the Northern Lights or visiting Santa in the resorts of
The company currently operates the largest number of flights to Lapland direct from the UK and charter flights run from small UK regional airports such as Norwich, Exeter and Humberside as well as the larger 'hubs' of Manchester and Gatwick.
In the winter of 2019, Transun’s tourism flights account for 88% of 28,000 passengers travelling through
References
- ^ Attwooll, Jolyon. "New day trip to the Arctic launches". Telegraph.
- ^ Hartford, Maggie. "In search of the real Lapland". The Oxford Times.
- ^ "Royalty, Ministers and Mayor Attend the World Travel Market 2002". Breaking Travel News.
- ^ "Fly to the Arctic Wilderness". Exeter Airport.
- ^ "Transun Establishes Egypt breaks programme". Travel Weekly.
- ^ "Transun widens day-trip options". TTG Digital.
- ^ Hartford, Maggie. "In search of the real Lapland". The Oxford Times.
- ^ "Royalty, Ministers and Mayor Attend the World Travel Market 2002". Breaking Travel News.
- ^ "UK operators criticize Croatia for failing to back campaigns". Travel Weekly.
- ISBN 9780750659697.
- ISBN 9780851999562.
- ^ Hartford, Maggie. "In search of the real Lapland". The Oxford Times.
- ^ Searle, Robin. "Sold out Transun adds Lapland capacity for December". Travel Weekly.
- ^ Keskitalo, Katja. "Lentoasemaa uhkaa sulkeminen". Enontekion Sanomat.
- ^ Tynkkynen, Jyri. "Brittiläinen matkanjärjestäjä tyrmää Enontekiön lentoaseman sulkemisen ja haukkuu Finavian". YLE.
- ^ Metsänheimo, Johanna. "Enontekiön yrittäjät: Lentokentän sulkemisen vaikutukset ovat jäätävät". Lapin Kansa.
- ^ Keskitalo, Katja. "Lentoasemaa uhkaa sulkeminen". Enontekion Sanomat.
- ^ Passoja, Annu. "Matkanjärjestäjä tyrmistyi Enontekiön kentän kohtalosta, 18 000 turistia tulossa kentälle joka aiotaan sulkea". YLE.
- ^ Tynkkynen, Jyri. "Enontekiön lentokenttä avataan sittenkin talveksi – kunta ostaa lentoaseman liiketoiminnan". YLE.