While most of us spent the last eight weeks trying to escape the UK’s unpredictable weather, one thing was certain: you wouldn’t have caught the stars of our cover feature decamped on a sun‐kissed beach with their out‐of‐offices on.

There’s rarely a day off when you have a business to run, something the cruise agency owners featured in our long read on page 48 can attest to. Nevertheless, each one managed to find time in their busy schedules to speak to Cruise Trade News as part of our in‐depth feature on how to launch a successful travel enterprise. How did they get started? What do they know now that they wish they knew then? How long did it take to register their first ‘win’? We get to the heart of it all.

For any of you sitting on a great business idea of your own, I urge you to read this article. Hopefully it inspires you to take a leap of faith.

It’s been a busy summer for Cruise Trade News, too, with the team hard at work putting together a bumper September issue to help you end a record‐breaking year on a high. On page 18, deputy editor Will Payne enlists the help of a bona fide NASA astronomer to investigate why star gazing cruises are more popular than ever. Meanwhile, on page 70, staff writer Lucy Abbott reports back from the breathtaking Norwegian Fjords as part of her review of Holland America Line’s (HAL) new Pinnacle class ship.

There’s all that, plus a stellar line‐up of in‐depth travel features designed to get your customers dreaming of their next holiday.

Happy reading!