CONFERENCE InteleTravel Quest Conference: About 400 delegates


InteleTravel hails 50% hike in UK and Ireland revenue


I


nteleTravel president James Ferrara has hailed “very motivated” agents in the UK and Ireland for


contributing to a 50% increase in year-on-year sales revenue. Delegates at the homeworking


agency’s annual conference heard that gross sales turnover in the UK and Ireland for 2023 would reach £95 million by the year’s end and the average transaction value was £1,500. Ferrara told Travel Weekly he


was “thrilled” with the figures, adding: “I see UK agents as very productive and hungry to succeed – they’re very motivated.” He said he expects the US-based


group’s total sales to reach the billion- dollar mark by the first quarter of 2024, in line with previous announcements. In the UK and Ireland, he would


like to see turnover increase by 30% in 2024 to about £125 million. Ferrara believes the business can carry on expanding, having grown


£95m


predicted total value of InteleTravel’s bookings this year


rapidly since arriving in the UK five years ago. He said: “In the UK we’re just


going to keep on growing in a managed and responsible way. “The growth is exponential, so I


can easily see us achieving the kind of numbers in the UK that we’ve seen in the US. We’ve been in the US for more than 30 years, but we could achieve those numbers in the UK in 10 years of being here.” InteleTravel has reported having


about 16,500 agents in the UK, but Ferrara said the rising number of agents is “not the important number”. “The important number is the


travel sales,” he said. “We’ve only grown the number of agents by about 10% in the last year, but we’ve grown the gross turnover by 50%.” Ferrara added: “The company has


grown far beyond any projections I had when we were first planning to set it up. My original projection was we would have a maximum of 5,000 agents, so we’ve more than tripled that.” Giving an update on the


company’s planned acquisition of a tour operator, Ferrara suggested the transaction is nearing completion. “The tour operator acquisition


is preparing to close and we’ll have an announcement about that before the end of the year,” he said. Ferrara added that InteleTravel


has also been pressing ahead with plans to expand into the EU, starting in Germany. Next year’s conference will be


held in Sorrento, which Ferrara predicted would be a popular destination among agents.


Firm to launch mobile app and rewards scheme


InteleTravel is set to launch a mobile app and rewards programme for agents, with work also under way to bring its customer relationship management (CRM) system to the UK. InteleTravel president and


co-founder James Ferrara said the finishing touches were being applied to the mobile app, which promised a “new era of agent booking”. He added: “There will be all of the things you can do on the website, but set up for you on an easy-to-use app.” The app is due to be launched


in the first quarter of next year, Ferrara said, along with the


16 16 NOVEMBER 2023


rewards programme. At the same time, InteleSpark, the CRM used in the US, will be introduced to UK agents. Ferrara said the rewards programme will allow agents to earn points for signing up, paying the monthly fee, completing training and making bookings, among other activities. Rewards will include free


trips and “hundreds” of luxury products, Ferrara said. He told agents at the


Mobile app promises ‘new era of agent booking’


conference in Malaga: “We want to reward you and motivate you to do the things that will make you more successful – and we want you to stay with us.”


AGENTS’


Fauzia Arif and baby Idris, Dr Travel Luxe “This agency is mostly women working from home, so I knew it


would be inclusive and it would be OK to bring my baby, so I could still learn more about travel and how to promote travel. Idris is a calm baby, which really helps. Most people have said I’ve done a great job and shown how we should be working.”


Bryan Brown, Golden Hour Travel UK and Travel Sunset Cruises UK “I’ve enjoyed it – it’s been very


informative. The insights into the cruise sector


Host city Malaga


travelweekly.co.uk


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