The Wrexham-based high street agency, which was set up by Anglesea’s parents in 1964, was celebrating Delmar’s 60th anniversary by chartering a boat for a celebration cruise along the river Dee in Chester in July 2024.
“It was the most beautiful evening – there was Champagne, holiday music playing and as I stood on one of the decks all I could hear was the laughter and conversation from our clients as they were comparing their itineraries,” she recalled of the big night.
“At that point I suddenly realised how special our company was and what we do for our clients. It’s more than just a business – it’s as important to our clients as it is to us as a family. I came very close to retiring but then I realised it’s far more valuable than a selling price.”
Since making that momentous decision last summer, Anglesea has been determined to take the business “to the next level” by fundamentally reshaping the agency, including giving more responsibilities to Delmar’s eight staff and introducing three “appointment offices” where clients can enjoy a more personal and private experience when booking their holidays.
This has clearly paid off for Anglesea with Delmar continuing to grow its sales in a “tough” overall market as consumers become more uncertain about their financial situation. There was also the added recognition of winning the Luxury Travel Agency of the Year category at the TTG Luxury Travel Awards 2025 in February.
Family history
Delmar World started life “over the road” from its current location in Wrexham when Anglesea’s parents Ces and Betty Davies were running a newsagents and her dad decided to open a travel agency in an office above the shop.
“They couldn’t afford staff – it was just an office with a desk,” said Anglesea. “He used to run upstairs when he saw a customer going up to the travel agency. Dad had travelled a lot before having a family – he had lived in Italy and he was fascinated by travel and wanted to bring that passion to everybody.”
Anglesea and her older brother Howard Davies, who also still works in the shop, helped their parents with the travel agency from a young age, including leading “mini-break” escorted trips to Europe when they were still teenagers.
Both Ann and Howard ended up working in the agency as adults and saw the business change “significantly” when Freddie Laker introduced cheap flights to Florida in the 1970s, which prompted Delmar to set up its US Travel Centre.
“We used to have people queuing outside the shop at 10pm so they could book those flights,” said Anglesea. “Howard started to do group trips to Florida – they were very popular and really opened up the destination.”
With her brother focusing on the US, Anglesea concentrated on becoming a Canada specialist which helped Delmar to diversify further. But after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, Angelsea decided that the business needed to become true worldwide specialists – a strategy that continues today.
Worldwide focus
“Every team member has their chosen area and has focused on getting trained to become specialists. We started with luxury Europe and cruise, and then moved into other specialist areas,” she explained. “To be a really good travel agents takes years of experience, product knowledge and relationship building. It takes time.”
She added that her team is now able to cover the globe in terms of their destination and product knowledge. The amount of cruise business has also shot up since Delmar opened a branch of Perfect Cruises six years ago – it now accounts for around 48% of sales, compared with 28% before making that move to focus on cruises.
Delmar World has also stepped up its marketing presence by appointing Anglesea’s son Ben as its first full-time marketing manager.
“It was a brave move but we wanted to get the brand voice right – I’m so proud that he’s sticking around,” said Anglesea. “We have definitely increased turnover with a consistent marketing message during the last two years.”
Among Delmar’s marketing initiatives is an annual travel show held in Chester every January, which attracted 350 visitors this year, as well as the installation of the new appointment offices.
“We have made seating more relaxed and it was Ben’s idea to put in some big screens,” added Anglesea. “This allows us to show different types of accommodation and seating on the aircraft - we can illustrate what people will get if they spend an extra £40 per night. It allows them to make an informed decision and that’s adding at least 15% to the ticket price.”
With the family business now spanning three generations and going from strength to strength, it’s perhaps not surprising that Anglesea decided she didn’t want to walk away from Delmar World just yet.
