High street

Thorne Travel to open new Prestwick store in early January

Owner and chief executive Shona Thorne said her team were ’eager to welcome customers’ to the new-look shop

‘Agents swayed by AI must remember to keep a firm hand on the wheel’

Generative AI opens vistas of opportunity for travel marketers and agents, but caution must be taken before rushing into adopting technology just because others are, writes We Are Llama’s Mags Sikora for TTG

Agents: ‘One good year won't make up for Covid – we'll need another’

As consumers continue to prioritise holidays over other non-essential spending, agents tell TTG about the magic they’re working with their clients

New research highlights five-year trend towards travel agents

Around 40% of customers polled for the survey said booking through an agent was more reliable

Hays Travel reveals above-industry average customer satisfaction score

Hays’ senior learning and development manager Leanne Cox also revealed the agency’s new service promise

West Sussex agency to add more shops and launch homeworking division

Experience It Now Travel director Richard Light is looking at sites to expand his agency business, and hopes to recruit up to 20 homeworkers

Tui grows new-look trade relations team to 17 ahead of peaks

The expanded team will report into Tui head of trade relations Andrew Isherwood

Hays seeking to build cruise sales to a third of its business

Cruise is predicted to account for 25% of the agency’s business this year - but head of cruise commercial Catriona Parsons wants more

Hays Travel to overhaul 375 branches and make major tech investments

A Hays app is planned for to launch in the spring, while a new WhatsApp platform has "seen tremendous sales"

Hays Travel 'investing in second peaks' for 2024 as consumers hold back spend

UK’s largest independent agency is putting a strong focus on the lates market next year

Hays Travel to relaunch in-house tour operator as 'standalone B2B brand' Vista

Former Travel 2 manager Kathleen Molloy will head up sales and product at Vista, with Tracey Luke serving as head of operations

Global Travel Collection promotions to strengthen support for agents

Global Travel Collection enhances roles of management to step up support for the trade

Barrhead Travel sets up dedicated menopause support team

Scottish independent’s five-strong team features representation from across the business

Premier Travel to open 27th branch next month

Four ’highly experienced’ employees will be installed at the new Fakenham branch

Costa Rica ready to double fam trip opportunities next year

Country’s tourism minister William Rodriguez said the trade was ’so important’ to Costa Rica

Norfolk agent Lisa Webster named Tui Agent of the Year

Webster joined Tui in January 2020 without any previous experience in the travel sector after seeing a job post on LinkedIn

Ex-Cook agent died after hotel fumigated for bedbugs, inquest told

Susan Cooper was on holiday with husband John Cooper in Egypt’s Hurghada when the incident happened in 2018

Explore's trade revenue almost doubles in 2023 as it launches new 2024 brochure

The adventure tour operator is currently advertising for an agency sales support executive to bolster trade support

Five ways luxury agents are flexing for success in 2024

At the TTG Luxury Travel Summit delegates heard how luxury agencies and agency networks are getting fit for the year ahead

Tracy Roberts joins Not in the Guidebooks as sales and operations leader

Roberts’ travel career has spanned 26 years, working across various for Thomas Cook and Going Places

Your Co-op Travel to unveil nationwide network of revamped branches

Head of omnichannel development Ellis Cain-Jones confirmed the new Your Co-op Travel shops would use existing staff

Jet2holidays pledges up to £5,000 towards apprentice agent salaries

The tour operator has previously announced a £500,000 apprenticeship fund to help agencies develop their workforces

Poll: Rebound in holiday demand prompts 20%+ pay hike for agents – has your pay gone up?

Earnings figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the average salary for a UK travel agent was £29,618 in April 2023

'I can't continue at this pace forever': is the travel trade burned out?

Ahead of National Stress Awareness Day (1 November), TTG caught up with some of the agents feeling the burn – and others who are finding their way through