Happy New Year From HA

There’s something about New Year’s Day that makes you pause for a moment. A chance to look back at what the year gave us, and ahead to what’s starting to take shape. As 2026 begins, here’s a message from our founder, Andy, reflecting on a big year for us and what’s coming next.

The Roman god Janus had one face looking forward and one looking backwards, and that’s exactly how I feel at this time of year. Hugely proud of what we achieved in 2025 and sad to leave the year behind, but hugely excited about what’s to come in 2026. Thanks for your company on our journey this year, whether you’ve travelled with us, have future holidays planned with us, or are just enjoying us sharing our stories and favourite places with you. We’ve loved having you with us, and it means a lot.In reality, we’re really focused on continuity. We’ve always believed in thoughtful, carefully-paced holidays that really allow you to connect with the people and places you visit; that was the same in 2025 and will be the same in 2026. But 2025 was something special. We celebrated our 15th birthday, which I guess makes us an “established” travel brand now: not something I was sure we’d ever be able to say back in those early days! And by way of celebration, we bought a new website into the world, finally overhauling our “old faithful” site that had served us for many more years than initially planned! Launching new websites is not for the faint-hearted, and we’re so thrilled with how it turned out: we really hope you’re enjoying it as much as we are.We also got our B Corp certification this year – something else that I’m always stupidly pleased about whenever I’m reminded of it. I’d assumed it would be a real challenge for us, but it turns out we were always doing B Corp things: working closely with local communities, supporting amazing partners and guides on the ground, looking after our team here in the UK, and generally just doing the “right” thing. In a similar vein, it was very gratifying to continue our tradition of picking up awards – there were a few, with the Best Workplace in Gloucestershire being a particular highlight. This recognition is so well deserved, because of the effort the whole team here puts into making sure every holiday we organise is something special and memorable.2026 kicks off with the addition of Egypt to our portfolio. This one is personal: I lived in Egypt as a child and I can still remember the thrill I got from the pyramids, temples, souqs, museums, all mixed with the infectious energy and humour of the Egyptians. This experience goes a long way to explaining how I ended up in the travel industry, and I can’t wait to share this cool country with as many of you as possible!As I said at the top of this message, we’re really going to be focused on continuing to deliver what we’ve always believed in, and the kind of holidays you know us for. We’ll be brushing up and expanding our knowledge through research trips (I know, it’s a tough gig), and using those trips to deepen our local connections and ferret out quirky ideas and tips, all so we can give you a holiday that’s meaningful and authentic.Hopefully, this has got you eagerly thinking about your next adventure, and we’re ready to provide more inspiration, ideas, and excitement with these gems from our specialists.So here’s wishing you a very Happy New Year from me and the whole HA team. We’re super-excited to see where 2026 might take you!Season’s greetings and the warmest of wishes,AndyHA Founder