Marie Campbell celebrated the milestone with her colleagues at Hays's Alloa branch, once Nairn Travel, last month – the store from which she's witnessed and experienced the travel industry's dramatic evolution since she began her career in 1976.
Along the way, she has taken all the changes and challenges in her stride during a career shaped by the rise of package travel, two Gulf wars, 9/11, the financial crash, the Icelandic ash cloud, the collapse of Thomas Cook and the Covid pandemic, all the while serving customers, albeit in a landscape now characterised by an incredible level of choice.
"The range of destinations people travel to now is vast compared with when I started," she said. "Package holidays were only just taking off in the 1970s, and people didn’t visit countries such as Germany, Poland or China. Now they do."
Campbell, 69, began her career with Nairn Travel on 22 March 1976 and has remained in the very same shop, now part of Hays Travel following its acquisition of Thomas Cook’s retail estate in 2019, ever since.
Over the years, she has progressed from travel consultant to branch manager, working at AT Mays and Thomas Cook before the store became part of Hays Travel. Although she had planned to retire in 2023, she opted to remain with the business and now works three days a week as a foreign exchange consultant.
"I just love what I am doing and I have no plans to give it up," she said. "Every day is different, and there is always something to learn."
'Part of the community'
Campbell added she has built long-standing relationships with both colleagues and customers during her time in the industry, including one client she has served for 35 years.
"I grew up here, I live here, and the branch is part of the community," she said. "I’ve developed some great friendships over the years and still work with our current branch manager, Margo Nicoll, who I’ve known for 38 years."
Reflecting on her own travel experiences, Campbell said in the 1970s her holidays were largely limited to Spain and Greece, but she now enjoys a much wider range of trips, including cruises and visits to Florida, with a trip to Alaska planned next.
Jane Schumm, retail director at Hays Travel, praised Campbell’s milestone, describing 50 years in the same branch as a "remarkable achievement". "I congratulate and thank Marie for her unwavering commitment to her colleagues, customers and community," Schumm said.
