NEWS agents attended a two-day conference in Spain last weekend. Samantha Mayling reports from Valencia


James Ferrara: ‘We may be mavericks but we act as responsible members of the [travel] community’


‘We were being questioned, now we’re being supported’


T


Valencia conference venue


he industry is now “understanding what InteleTravel is”, according to bosses, who insisted


the agency would be both “fierce competitors” and “responsible members of the travel community”. Ferrara insisted engagement with


suppliers and sales figures answered questions about the agency’s model and approach. “We learnt a lot of lessons [during


the pandemic],” he said. “We took this last year to seize the opportunities. We were being questioned; we are now being supported. “The industry is understanding


who we are. The recipe works, it has been proven again and again. We are in the best possible position for the travel renaissance.” He added: “We may be mavericks


but we act as responsible members of the [travel] community. “We will not be distracted; we will


be fierce competitors.” InteleTravel has previously been


criticised for its rapid expansion model and relationship with recruitment company PlanNet. Ferrara insisted training and


education for all agents was the “backbone of the company”, telling Travel Weekly that critics were “driven by fear, resistance to change and anti-competitive sentiment”. Referring to PlanNet, UK director Handley-Hughes added: “Criticism


Giles Hawke


comes from people who do not understand our business. InteleTravel is not a network marketing company. “People have got confused about


the two companies. People can be in both; they are entrepreneurial.” Delegates were told that the


top-selling InteleTravel agent in the UK had sold holidays worth a total of £431,000 so far in 2021. Handley-Hughes said Victoria


Grieveson had made bookings primarily to the Maldives and Dubai while also working as a senior manager for a security company. Shane Lewis-Riley, Virgin


Voyages’ associate vice-president, said: “InteleTravel has gone from nothing to flying during the pandemic for us.” Giles Hawke, chief executive of


Cosmos and Avalon Waterways, told delegates: “You guys make sales – when we do a webinar or training, we see sales the next day from InteleTravel agents.”


‘Methodical’ agency aims to expand into Ireland and western Europe


InteleTravel plans to expand into Ireland early next year and has eyes on launching in western Europe when the time is right. Founded 30 years ago in the US,


the company launched in the UK four years ago. Ferrara said: “Our next move will be


into the Republic of Ireland. “It is a relatively easy move. Once our


Atol licence is in place, we can move into Ireland with relatively little red tape.” Ferrara said the company would also


soon have operations in Canada and was eyeing expansion into western Europe. “We are methodical growers,” he


said. “We are not growing all at once but travelweekly.co.uk


Delegates heard that the agency’s top seller had sold holidays worth £431,000 so far this year


have eyes on a foothold there [western Europe]. There is no time frame but it is part of the plan. “The order [for expansion] is based


on research. Who has got a strong middle-class economy? Who has got a strong credit card economy?” In the UK, InteleTravel has 10,500


agents, and Ferrara said the number had stabilised. “The goal is to be profitable, to


perform for our partners,” he said. “It is not about how many agents, it’s


about how much we sell. It is important to get new blood, but that’s the means; I want to focus on the end.”


21 OCTOBER 2021 15


PICTURES: Santiago Vidal Visuua


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