Buckley Travel owner to open agency in Chester


Andrew McQuarrie


Buckley Travel owner Jacqui Bowring has revealed plans to open a third shop, in June, which she expects to be the agency’s top-selling branch. The store in Chester will join sites


in Buckley and Hawarden, both in north Wales, which opened in 2007 and 2023 respectively. Bowring said: “I always said I


wanted a shop in Chester, because I’m Chester born and bred.” She plans to train her 25-year-old


mechanic son to work in the store alongside another agent initially, with potential for a further four members of staff to be recruited in the future. The expectation is that the shop


will offer a mix of the holidays sold in the existing branches. About 75% of bookings in


Buckley Travel are Jet2 trips, according to Bowring, while most of Hawarden Travel’s business comes from long-haul bookings and luxury trips through a range of operators. The new shop will be outside the


town centre and will offer free parking. Bowring said the location should


mean the branch attracts attention from passing traffic, including doctors travelling to the Countess of Chester Hospital.


I don’t want the


business to grow so big that it loses the personal touch


She added that the new branch


would probably out-sell the existing shops in time. Asked whether she might add a


fourth shop, Bowring said she had no plans to expand, but did not rule it out. “I don’t want the business to


grow so big that it loses the personal touch, but I’m not going to say no


EasyJet to open three-aircraft base in Newcastle next March


EasyJet and easyJet holidays will open a three- aircraft base at Newcastle airport in March 2026. The new base – the airline’s 11th in the UK – will allow easyJet to expand its network from the region, with destinations and packages to be unveiled in the coming weeks. It already serves Alicante, Amsterdam, Geneva, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Bristol and Belfast from Newcastle.


8 29 MAY 2025 Jacqui Bowring


SeaDream hosts 100 agents as ship visits London


SeaDream Yacht Club hosted more than 100 agents during SeaDream II’s maiden call in London as the line continues its effort to revive UK passenger numbers to pre-pandemic levels. President Bob Lepisto said the


trade would play a key role in the push to strengthen UK figures. “Our UK passenger numbers


are good, but they have not rebounded yet to the level that US and Canadian numbers have come back post-Covid,” he said. “We do have a very loyal following here, but we’re always looking to enhance our presence in the UK market.” Each of SeaDream Yacht Club’s


two ships has a capacity for 112 guests and a crew of 95. About 100 agents were among


[to potential expansion] because I don’t know what ideas I might have,” she added. Bowring originally ran


Buckley Travel on behalf of two businesswomen, but bought the agency from them in 2014. Two years ago, she gave a 10%


share of Buckley Travel to her long- time colleague Michelle Shone. The pair then opened Hawarden Travel on a 50:50 basis. Bowring was one of the winners


of Travel Weekly’s Cover Stars competition last year, and her photo is set to appear on the front of next week’s magazine.


Tui customer sales director to leave company after 25 years


Tui’s director of customer sales and service, Belinda Vazquez, is to leave at the end of June. She joined Tui more than 25 years ago as a trading assistant and was named retail director for the UK and Ireland in 2018, before taking her current role in 2022. She will “pursue a fresh challenge outside the company”.


TTNG appoints John Wilson to


new role of cruise sales director The Travel Network Group has appointed John Wilson to the newly created role of cruise sales director. The appointment is part of TTNG’s “strategic drive to expand its cruise proposition” and speed the growth of its in-house tour operator, The Cruise Club. Wilson has held senior roles at Royal Caribbean, Virgin Holidays and Tui, and most recently was Celebrity Cruises’ EMEA sales director.


travelweekly.co.uk


560 visitors during the weekend showcase of SeaDream II, Lepisto said, with many of those stepping on board being high-net-worth individuals. “Having the yacht here and


having so many travel agents here in itself is a big step forward,” Lepisto told Travel Weekly.


Bob Lepisto


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