A DAY WITH... BROADLAND TRAVEL, NORTH WALSHAM, NORFOLK


A ‘huge risk’ in changing tack has helped the Norfolk agency prosper. SAMANTHA MAYLING found out how


If you hear a hacking cough from below the counter at Worldchoice agency Broadland Travel in North Walsham, don’t be alarmed. It’s just resident jack russell, Major, who seems quite perky for a 14-year-old dog. Like the terrier, the agency is small but full


of character, and a familiar fixture on the main shopping street in the Norfolk market town.


UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL BECKY


MARGARSON Assistant manager I’ve been in travel… for


17 years – and 10 years here. If I were not a travel agent, I’d be… working in a nursery. My favourite destination is… Disneyland Paris because it is magical at Christmas. A customer once… brought us mixed, dried fruit back from holiday, as he thought it would be different from chocolates and sweets.


Nick Lee and his parents bought Broadland


Travel Services in 1993, when it had branches in Stalham and the premises in North Walsham’s Market Place. He had worked for three travel agencies, a


consolidator and tour operator in London, but when his parents were looking to retire, they sought a location for a travel agency business.


They chose Norfolk, as his mother had


holidayed in nearby Mundesley. Nick was just 22 when he started with


Broadland Travel, and dad Dennis still helps out with the accounts. Unfortunately, the Stalham branch shut in


2007, after the nearby RAF Coltishall base closed the previous year. The North Walsham shop was also beginning to struggle, so Nick took advice from a business consultant in 2010. “We changed the focus of the business –


NATALIE BISHOP Travel consultant I’ve been in travel… two years. If I were not a


travel agent, I’d be… sad. My favourite destination is… New York has everything from seeing a Broadway show to eating true New York cheesecake. A customer once… asked if there was an ATM in Kefalonia and if they could pack a loaf in their suitcase. What I love about my job is… that I never stop learning.


ANNETTE LAMBERT Senior consultant I’ve been in travel…


more than 30 years. If I were not a travel agent, I’d be… a dancer on stage. My favourite destination is… California, because of the movie sets and glamour. A customer once… asked how much a ticket to heaven costs. I asked: “Single or return?”


it was a heart-stopping moment and felt like a huge risk,” recalls Nick. He established three rules: discounting was phased out; they switched to midmarket and upmarket suppliers such as Classic Collection; and cruising and touring were promoted. The risks paid off. Touring and cruising now


account for more than 40% of business and generate lucrative bookings with the likes of Silversea and Seabourn. “The biggest was about £65,000,” says


Nick. “We are now making good money – and good profits.” They took the approach that they were all qualified professionals who needed to get to know their customers. “It’s reduced our marketing budget, as we get a lot of word-of- mouth recommendations,” says Nick.


32travelweekly.co.uk29 November 2018


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