Yorkshire's Conexo Travel expands to second branch after year-long hunt for premises
Harry KembleYorkshire’s Conexo Travel has opened a second shop – ending a year-long search for the right site in York city centre.
Owner David Carruthers said he believes the new Gillygate Street branch will benefit from the “buzz” tourists create as they pass the shop.
“York is great for independent shops,” said Carruthers, who launched the brand in nearby Haxby in 2005. “It is full of tourists all year round. We’re not going to get business out of them, but it does create a nice buzz having them there.
"Gillygate is a thoroughfare, and the street is full of independent businesses. We feel we’ve selected a place that works.”
In York, there are currently several independent travel agency branches – including Heritage Collection Travel and Hays Travel – as well as a Tui branch and a Trailfinders shop.
Carruthers added: “It’s nice to sit in our shop in York and hear the Minster Bells chime – we’re 50 metres away from them.”
A repeat customer gave the new Conexo Travel branch its first booking – return flights to New Zealand – shortly after it opened last week.
“The customer said it was great that we were opening up here,” Carruthers continued. “We’ve had some great enquiries so far.”
‘Always looking for opportunities’
Asked whether Conexo Travel – a member of the Hays Travel Independence Group member – would look to continue expanding its retail network, Carruthers said: “We’re always looking for opportunities. It’s very much one shop at a time. We’ve had an eye on York for a while.”
Carruthers confirmed four staff have been recruited to work in the Gillygate branch, but revealed none have previous travel industry experience.
“Everyone is new to travel,” he said, adding: “We will distribute the experience in the Haxby team among the new team and they will learn that way or they will learn online.
“It’s a logistical challenge. We do ask for people with experience, but if they’re well-travelled, we’ll still take them on.”
Carruthers said “quite a few applicants” had completed a travel and tourism course before applying. “I like to see if staff have a passion for travel," he added.
"These applicants can demonstrate that but they’ve done the course. They knew quite a lot about the tour operators that we work with, so there’s a bit of knowledge there.”
Carruthers said travel agents now have to answer more customers questions than they previously did following the pandemic, and believes clients will start raising issues with the European Travel and Information Authorisation System (Etias) in the coming months.
Etias, an Esta-style visa waiver scheme, has been delayed for several years, and remains dependent on the EU launching its new Entry-Exit System, which will introduce biometric checks at EU borders.
“When we read in the trade press about people being denied boarding because their passports have expired, I tell my staff to look at their customers’ passports,” explained Carruthers.
“Next customers are going to be asking travel agents about is Etias. Travel agents can see the dangers ahead.”
Harry Kemble
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