JF Travel owner Jonny Fielding will open his third shop in the new year when he expands to Ballymena in County Antrim, telling TTG the town is perfectly located equidistant from his existing stores in Coleraine and Magherafelt.
"Residents’ reception to news of our opening has been very positive – I think Ballymena has the potential to become one of our busiest stores," said Fielding. "We want to sweep that area and become the brand for that 40- to 50-mile radius."
Like Fielding’s other shops, the Ballymena store will not target a specific demographic or clientele, focusing instead on proving a quality service at all price points. "Whether people spend £200pp or £20,000pp, it’s still their holiday so we’ll treat them in the same way,” he vowed.
Fielding had hoped to open the store on Monday 30 December, but this has been pushed back by a week owing to staffing issues.
He is nevertheless hopeful of making a splash during peaks and getting strong start to the year, which he hopes will be the strongest in JF Travel’s nine-year history.
"We want to hit the ground running [with the Ballymena store],” he said. “We want to get people through the door whenever they are in the mood to book a holiday.”
Fielding has started complementing his high street retail business with a homeworking division after recruiting two former agents, and plans to grow JF Travel’s homeworking operation in the coming years.
"Expanding the homeworking side of business will be about quality over quantity," he said. "I would like at least 10 members by the end of 2025/26."
At 33, Fielding already has 15 years’ industry experience and has already run his own business for nearly a decade. He started his career in travel as an advisor at Coleraine’s Co-op Travel before taking a leap of faith and striking out on his own in 2016 at the age of 25.
"I started working in a business centre for myself," he explained. "After a year, I took on my first employee and a year later, my second. Before I knew it, we were moving into the Coleraine store.
"I saw the opportunity and grasped it – I was always going to do something of my own."
Fielding also recently took part in a live podcast record at Jet2holidays’ annual VIP conference in Paphos, alongside Stewart Travel’s Lynda Ross and Buckley Travel’s Jacqui Bowring.
As it nears 10 years in business, JF Travel – a member of Global Travel Group – has already ridden out some of the toughest shocks the industry has ever endured, and Fielding is confident he and his team can go toe-to-toe too with giants like Hays Travel and Barrhead Travel.
"People buy from people," he adds. "I’m very confident about peaks – I think next year [2025] will be our best year ever."
