The Blackpool-based agency and cruise specialist, which also operates the Southampton Cruise Centre brand, has a shop in the seaside town – plus close to 100 business owners dotted across the country selling under the Holiday Village brand.
Speaking exclusively to TTG, chief executive Phil Nuttall strongly hinted the business would invest heavily in technology to drive growth, building on progress made through development of its e-commerce website.
"I think the Travel Village will be a strong national brand within 12 months," said Nuttall. "Our reach is already national. We don’t need to have branches everywhere. At the moment, it’s all being achieved through social media. We’re going to make ourselves more relevant nationally.
"We do not want the distraction of opening up a shop and sending people to different parts of the country having opened shops."
Nuttall suggested the agency’s retail branch and HQ in Blackpool’s Highfield Road could be used to host customer "soiree" events which suppliers could also attend.
"If we get the right people and the right space, we can do evening events, afternoon teas and destination events for customers," he said. "It’s not just about retail shops. We have to use the space in the right way at Highfield Road.
"We’ve got some ideas. We need to work on the business proposition. We can work much closer with tour operators to help get customers over the line.”
He continued: “You will see the customer demographics change. Today, we’ve got a lot of customers nationally, but we can get more. We’ve just got to think differently."
Earlier this summer, Nuttall and his team launched the business’s first-ever podcast series called Now Boarding. At the time, Nuttall said: “It will be all about bringing the magic of travel to life.”
