National Holidays parent JG Travel Group is hopeful of rebuilding booking volumes to 2019 levels by 2023 as travel emerges from the Covid crisis, and more people initially consider domestic breaks.
New chief executive Andy Freeth told TTG he saw room for the group, in particular, to grow its trade business, building on its acquisition last year of National, which has long been a trade-friendly brand.
JG’s business through the trade, however, currently accounts for only about 12-13% of the group’s total business.
"Talking about growth in the middle of a pandemic is tricky," said Freeth. "But I’ve identified some areas I think we can work on.
"The business hasn’t historically worked with the trade. National did in pockets, but with [trade sales manager] Claire Dutton, [sales and yield director] Matt Herbert in place, and me, as I’ve got a bit of experience working with the trade, that’s going to be very useful to the business."