A DAY WITH... TRAVEL WEEKLY ON THE ROAD
Jennifer Morris @JMorrisTW
BDM Graham Eadie took me for lunch. I tried haggis for the first time and it was delicious. Thanks Graham!
ABOVE: Alan, David and Douglas Alan with the branded car the business won use of at a Mercedes-Benz event
LEFT: Tom Blair, Michele Lister and Cathryn Brannan
FAR LEFT: Brothers Alan, David and Douglas Glen outside the shop
Australia and cruising,” says Michele. “Cruise is doing amazingly well – there are just so many ships being built, but the demand is there. “Touring is another one. People are asking
for Vietnam and are interested in multi-centres to get two or three holidays out of one. It seems the younger customers are expanding their horizons – it’s not all about Ibiza anymore. “On the whole people are wanting more
value for their money.” Like many others, Glen Travel has also seen the effect of terrorism on its customers’ booking patterns, with Turkey and Egypt having taken a noticeable hit.
Out in the community Michele and the team try and get out and about as much as possible. “Cathryn and I went to one of the local primary schools and did a whole school assembly,” she says. “We gave a presentation about the different kind of holidays and they absolutely loved it. “We bounce ideas off each other and go out and about as much as possible. We go to a lot of supplier events and have a really good relationship with many – we’re well covered.” Glen Travel works particularly closely with operators such as Jet2holidays, Azure
Collection, Prestige Holidays and Classic Collection Holidays.
Family feel Michele says there is a family-feel to Glen Travel which “makes a huge difference”. “I like that we are independent too as I can
give clients a variety of choice,” says Michele. “People love the fact that three brothers run the business too.” Michele says it is the team’s customer service and the breadth of experience and specialist knowledge that set Glen Travel apart. Senior travel consultant Tom Blair has worked in the industry for 49 years.
Bright future Director Alan Glen said: “We are a growing business and if it keeps going the way it is we will hire more staff. We would also look at more franchises and homeworkers. The outlook is positive and in terms of flights from Scotland, figures from Glasgow and Edinburgh are very encouraging with a host of new routes and the airports reporting record- breaking numbers every month. In some ways, becoming SPAA president has helped to raise Glen Travel’s profile, and we won the SPAA’s Best Small Leisure Agency award last year.”
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explain how various processes worked and made me the best cup of coffee I had in Scotland! It is clear that both the agency side
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of the business and the tour operator staff have technology front of mind and are really effective at making the most of tools such as Facebook to raise awareness of the brand, posting offers that have been thoroughly researched. The Facebook posts get lots of views and shares. The business has recently relaunched its cruise website –
luxurycruising.co.uk and the
glentravel.co.uk has been updated. Having two sections in the business
is unusual in Scotland and it’s clear the two sides work in harmony and complement each other. I had a great day and look forward to seeing the team again soon.
Jennifer Morris @JMorrisTW
I took an early train from Glasgow to Blantyre. Waiting for Graham to pick me up
JENNIFER’S DAY
I was overwhelmed by the hospitality of the staff at Glen Travel. They took the time to
21 July 2016
travelweekly.co.uk 35
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