Cruise bookings in March, April and May attracted the highest number of sales for the homeworking branch for the first time.

Abbie Heaton, sales manager for The Personal Travel Consultants in Partnership with Blue Bay Travel, said: “For the first time ever, cruising proved to be our most popular trip type for March, April, and May for our homeworkers. 

“With many of the cruise companies increasing their promotional activity, there are some exceptional offers currently available and amazing incentives for agents.”

Bookings for the Spanish islands were second favourite in the agency’s first quarter, followed by The Maldives and Mauritius. Heaton said this was driven by offers Blue Bay Travel secured. 

“More recently, between March and May, Maldives moved up to the top spot, followed by Turkey and Dominican Republic,” she added.

She said the rebounding travel market had seen significant increase in independent lead generation from homeworkers, with 60-65% being self-generated rather than coming from Blue Bay.

“Our best day was the 31st of January, where we transacted over £250,000 in revenue. This was much helped by a significant booking of almost £100,000 to Las Vegas. Our average booking value has been around £4,500.”

Heaton said the peak time of day for bookings was 5pm, “when most retail agents are finishing for the day”.

She added airport chaos and cancellations had added to the appeal of PTCs.

“Spring has been a tough period for travel with cancelled flights and media reports of airport chaos, which is an ongoing issue and is causing some concern as we approach the peak summer holiday season. 

“The reality is, whilst no-one wants to hear this news, it does reinforce the benefits of booking with a specialised travel consultant who can really help every step of the way when it comes to tricky areas such as rescheduling flights.”