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Sunday trading, keeping it local and being 'in it for the long-haul': eight Hays Travel conference takeaways

High street
Edward Robertson
14 November 2024

It would be easy to pin Hays Travel’s transformation from iconic northern agency brand to household name on its acquisition of Thomas Cook, which earned owners John and Irene Hays their "heroes of the high street" moniker.

Sunday trading

There's no standing still for Hays Travel (Credit: iStock)

But Hays was doing things right long before Cook’s troubles; five years on, it continues to innovate and evolve to adapt to – and pre-empt – new consumer and retail trends while retaining the entrepreneurial spirit that has always characterised the Hays name.


The agency this week hosted more than 700 delegates at its annual retail conference in Turkey’s Belek, taglined: In it for the long-haul, where it laid out its objectives for the coming year – and its longer-term vision for the years ahead.