Nickson told TTG her decision to switch was driven by her wish for more freedom when negotiating contracts with suppliers.
She revealed other consortia had previously made approaches to see if they could persuade her to leave Not Just Travel but the timing had not felt right.
Nickson said: “I’ve always taken great pleasure in designing the business around what I think works best for my customers, and continually improving the service I give them.
“Becoming independent has given me the flexibility to continue on this journey, and after careful consideration PTS turned out to be the perfect partner to make this possible.
“I’m a bit of a control freak. I do like to know that I only have myself to answer for. One thing I really like is that I can sign commercial terms with any company that I like. I’ve got a lot more freedom. That helps me with the sustainability angle.”
At PTS, Nickson will continue to make contributions to rewilding projects following each booking but from now on it will come from her own pocket.
“With PTS I’m keeping a lot more of my commission,” she said. “I’m actually now going to making that £5 per passenger contribution from my own pocket.”
