Speaking at the agency’s conference on Friday 27 May onboard MSC Virtuosa, director Paula Nuttall told TTG the company had asked its new hires for feedback on the industry’s accessibility and said the answers they got painted a negative picture. 

“We’ve spoken to these younger colleagues and what we’re finding is that it’s really hard to get into the travel industry,” she said.

“Agents have legacy bookings, customer refunds and increased administration tasks that are taking their focus away from sales and leaving them unable to bring in and nurture young people.”

The new hires were recruited to the agency’s care team, both having studied travel and tourism in college.

The Travel Village Group is now scouting for apprentices to join its marketing department, technology department and retail store.

Nuttall spoke about the importance of young people to the industry, adding that they ensured its growth. 

She said: “We’re not just doing this because it pays a low salary, we’ve upped their salaries to national minimum wage, we want to get them to be the next generation of the travel industry."