Travel agents chasing growth should stop worrying about appealing to everyone and start focusing on solving one specific group's problems.

That's the advice from Aurora Dream Travels owner Catherine Thorpe, who has generated £1.6 million in sales in less than two years after building a business around one highly specific niche – solo parents travelling with neurodivergent children.

Catherine never intended to become a travel agent, let alone build a seven-figure business. A former teacher, she joined the industry after years working in network marketing and hypnotherapy, inspired by her own experiences travelling as a single mum to two neurodivergent sons.

"When you take an autistic child anywhere, you tend to know the area inside and out because you have to research it so much," she said. "I realised I was giving my travel agent all the information. I was basically using her for the prices. I thought – why not do it myself?"

Sell less, share more

Catherine hit £30,000 in sales during her first month, £100,000 within three months and has now surpassed £1.6 million in bookings ahead of her second anniversary. Rather than relying on discounts or aggressive sales tactics, Catherine credits her success to identifying and becoming a trusted voice within an underserved audience. "I didn't set out to create this niche," she said. "I attracted it through sharing my own life and experiences online."

Much of Catherine's business has grown through Facebook communities, where she posts detailed accounts of family holidays rather than promotional offers. Her breakthrough came after she discovered a dormant Facebook group for solo parents with around 10,000 members.

Catherine Thorpe

"I contacted the admin and asked if I could post in there. She replied, ‘You can have it!'," Catherine said.

Since taking over the group earlier this year, membership has climbed past 6,000 active members, with more joining every day. Within it, Catherine documents the realities of travelling with neurodivergent children, including "the highs, the meltdowns and the practical tips" other parents need.

"Every time I come back from a destination, I suddenly do 20 bookings for it," she said. "Every solo parent of a neurodivergent child worries about a meltdown happening on holiday – but I want people to know that you deal with it every day at home, so what's different about dealing with it abroad?"

'Solo parents want someone to lift the mental load'

Catherine believes today's customers increasingly value expertise over finding the absolute cheapest fare. For Catherine's business, that value lies in removing what she repeatedly calls the "mental load" faced by solo parents.

"Planning a holiday means making hundreds of decisions," she said. "People want someone who understands their situation and can take that burden away."

Catherine is also critical of the industry's tendency to use broad accessibility claims without understanding individual needs. "It's too generic; once you've met one autistic child, you haven't met them all," she said.

To this end, Catherine contacts airlines and suppliers to explain precisely what each traveller needs – whether that's retaining a "favourite drinking cup" during take-off to arranging for "quiet spaces" at the airport.

Catherine Thorpe

One booking involved helping a family who feared a trip to Disneyland Paris would be impossible. Catherine arranged tailored airport assistance, quieter facilities, suitable accommodation and even built in a decompression week afterwards before the flight home.

"It's about thinking smart," she said. "Putting lots of little things together rather than doing everything the generic way."

She has also partnered with a local disability charity to develop detailed accessibility questionnaires covering everything from feeding tubes and oxygen supplies to safe-space beds.

"It helps me narrow down the right hotels instead of making assumptions," she explained.

'Don't worry about being too niche'

Catherine has also found great success with her latest venture, SPARCLE Holidays, a collection of hosted departures for solo parents. 

Families book independently rather than as a traditional escorted group, but know other parents in similar situations will be staying at the same resort if they choose to meet.

"It's about having that reassurance," she said. "If you're ill, someone understands. If your child needs help, there are other solo parents around who get it."

Seven departures, including a cruise, are already planned, with destinations including Lanzarote, Lapland and Menorca.

Asked what advice she would give fellow homeworkers looking to stand out, Catherine's answer was simple. "Don't worry about your audience being too niche," she said. "The smaller you get, the more likely you are to reach exactly the people who need your expertise."