Exsus Travel has announced plans to host a second agent awards ceremony at the end of September as trade sales for the luxury operator "soar".
The event will be held on Friday 30 September at a Central London venue, with a number of the Exsus Travel team, agents and suppliers set to be in attendance.
The brand held its first agent awards in the summer of 2019 at The Ivy in London after its first year of formally working with the trade. The company’s plans to make the ceremony an annual event were scuppered by the outbreak of Covid-19.
Neil Sealy, head of trade sales for Exsus, said the event is "very much about thanking travel agents" who have worked closely with the company over the past "very difficult" couple of years.
"We are truly appreciative of all the support we receive from agents, and are very pleased to have the opportunity to show them our gratitude," he added. "There will be awards presented to the top performing agents for Exsus Travel in their respective areas."
Meanwhile, Sealy said Exsus’s trade business has been "nothing short of remarkable" so far this year. "We began the year very strongly, and the trend continues, with us having seen some of the company’s strongest sales months during the first half of the year," he added.
He said the company’s business has "effectively trebled", with more than 80% of the new revenue coming from the trade.
Most bookings have been for single-centre beach holidays in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Indian Ocean, as travellers, particularly in the earlier part of the year, looked to minimise the amount of travel they did.
"We are now seeing a return to multi-centre itineraries, with the US, Canada, Thailand and South Africa standing out as popular destinations," Sealy continued.
"Clients are spending more – many are looking to upgrade their flights and accommodation – and we are seeing an increased number of larger family groups travelling together."
As part of an ongoing recruitment drive launched by the company around a year ago, Exsus is continuing to look for new hires in sales, "behind the scenes" operations and frontline staff.