NEWS


START AND SEOUL: Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson celebrates the carrier’s first flight to Saudi Arabia as the airline confirmed plans to extend its route network to include Seoul from next March. Daily flights to the South Korean capital will go on sale on May 14. The inaugural Heathrow flight to Riyadh took place this week, with the service tipped to appeal to business travellers and those visiting friends and relatives. Special service elements include Arabic coffee as part of the pre-departure drinks service, halal meals available throughout the flight, and the T


raveller’s Prayer played before the safety video. The airline has also created a ‘Riyadh core crew’, which has undertaken specialist training to become experts in Saudi culture.


Recruitment difficulties hinder indie agents’ expansion plans


Ella Sagar and Juliet Dennis


Smaller independent agencies say problems recruiting experienced staff are thwarting expansion plans. Some agency bosses described


staffing challenges as “horrendous”, but reports varied based on company size and location of premises. Recruitment has


generally improved since the Covid pandemic, when firms lost staff and companies struggled to meet the post-Covid surge in holiday demand because of resourcing difficulties. However, latest figures from


She said: “A lot of agents dread it


because recruitment is hard. Often you have to train staff from scratch.” Lynch said it was “already niggling


away” that she would need to recruit for a third shop even though it was unlikely to be for another 12 months. Rising national insurance costs


STORY TOP


and business rates also meant agencies had to make more money to justify recruitment and expansion, she said. Lynch’s views were


echoed by Ellie Fowler, co- owner of The Travel Business, who aims to double headcount


C&M Travel Recruitment showed a 19% drop in candidates in March compared with the previous month and the same month last year. ArrangeMY Escape general


manager Jennifer Lynch described a feeling of “dread” among agency owners when it came to recruitment.


travelweekly.co.uk


by next year. She said: “It’s definitely harder than before. The process is horrendous, and being in Wales brings complications with a smaller pool. In Newport there are quite a few agencies in a very small area.” Fowler attributed the difficulties


to experienced people leaving the industry, a competitive market and some new-to-travel recruits “not appreciating the hard work needed”.


Club Voyages founder Sam Ballard,


who set up his shop in Leicester last year, is also hoping to “at least double” headcount by next year. “It’s really difficult,” he said.


“We’re in a position where we want to expand but the biggest thing holding us back is getting the right people in.” Ballard added that few


experienced agents were applying. Ian Gilder, managing director at


Adore Cruises, said difficulties hiring for the company’s newest shop in Horbury, West Yorkshire, meant he was forced to drive 184 miles from his shop in Epping, Essex, to fill in. Gilder highlighted rising staff


costs as an additional challenge and said the increase in the national living wage had “not made it easy”. Julie Kendrick, head of


commercial at Spear Travels, said recruitment was “still challenging in certain areas”, citing its Thame and Stoke branches, which “struggled to get applicants”. Seaside Travel head of business


and commercial Paula Gleeson agreed the challenges could vary by location, saying a new shop in the Low Fell area of Gateshead had been “the easiest so far in terms of staffing”, while one in Amble, Northumberland, did not attract “anywhere near” the number of experienced applicants. Other larger and mid-sized chains,


including Althams Travel and East of England Co-op Travel, said they had “thankfully” not experienced recent recruitment challenges. Barbara Kolosinska, managing


director of C&M Travel Recruitment, said recruitment remained tough for agencies four years on from the easing of Covid restrictions. “There is still a candidate


shortage although it’s not like it was immediately post-pandemic,” she said. “For agencies looking for experienced staff, the location, reputation and type of agency can affect recruitment.” She suggested retailers could be


losing recruits to more flexible jobs, adding: “Candidates want hybrid roles.”


24 APRIL 2025 5


PICTURE: Virgin Atlantic


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