NEWS SPECIAL REPORT


Agents explored the Cypriot countryside with Involved guides Panicos and Leanne (right)


Getting Involved G


Involved Holidays updated agents during its first fam trip about plans to ramp up trade support. Samantha Mayling reports from Paphos


uided walks specialist Involved Holidays aims to boost its trade support, with plans


for an upgraded agent portal and recruitment of a business development manager. It hopes to host another fam trip,


probably in Majorca or Portugal, following the success of its inaugural educational for 11 agents in Cyprus, in partnership with Constantinou Bros Hotels. Sales director Richard Forde said


the operator will launch a training course with Online Travel Training on December 1 and an agents’ Facebook group in January. A Black Friday promotion is


planned, with price parity for agents, and Involved will join the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association.


Trade strategy Formerly at Newmarket Holidays, Forde joined the Market Harborough- based operator in January, tasked with developing trade sales. Managing director Steve West


founded Involved Holidays in 2021 when he bought the database of his employers at Preferred Travel


12 30 OCTOBER 2025 Atas has been a


main driver in getting the message out and we would love to welcome more agents on board


Services – and has seen 30% year-on- year growth annually. The team expanded from four


to seven this year and joined the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers (Atas) in April as part of its trade push. “Atas has been amazing for brand


awareness,” said Forde. “We need to get the concept across about our ‘holidays with walks’ – and opportunities for agents selling to solos and groups.” A typical week-long package


includes guided walks on three days, with clients able to relax or do their own activities on non-walking days. Alongside Cyprus, the company


features Spain, Portugal, Romania, Poland, Albania, Malta, Italy, Crete, Greece and the UK. “Atas has been a main driver in


getting the message out and we’d love to welcome more agents on board,”


Forde continued. “We hope to recruit more staff next year and hopefully a BDM so we can showcase the product face to face.” The operator will also develop


its range, with more “trails and rails” tours, featuring trips by train, and add Morocco and Cape Verde. Forde said departures from


19 regional airports are a “strong” selling point and highlighted how 13 holidays cater to the “booming” solos market.


Varied accommodation On the trip, agents stayed at the four- star Athena Beach Hotel and visited sister properties Athena Royal Beach Hotel and Tui Blue Pioneer Hotel. They explored Paphos, the Troodos mountains and Akamas peninsula. Mark Richardson, Constantinou


Bros Hotels’ UK and Ireland head of sales, plans a fam trip next year for about 80 agents and operators to see suites that are due to open at the five- star Asimina Suites Hotel next May. Unveiling an incentive for agents


to earn free nights at Asimina Suites Hotel, he said: “We had a record year last year and we’re having a record year this year.”


AGENTS’ VIEWS


Nadelle Mercer, Dawson & Sanderson, Morpeth “The highlight was


walking in the Troodos mountains – I pushed myself. But you don’t have to be a Stormin’ Norman. As our guide Leanne said, ‘We’re only as fast as the last.’”


Suzanne Hodgson, Designer Travel “I like the simplicity of ‘holidays with


walks’; it’s stress-free. You start as strangers and end up as friends. Everything is taken care of, so you can switch off. It’s such a relaxed pace, not for hardcore walkers.”


Amy Kearney, Love To Travel, Coatbridge “The walks are a gentle, relaxed


pace, with perfect weather. It’s a good-value package. The guides make everything run smoothly. We have older clients who’d like this – it’s a great winter-sun alternative.”


travelweekly.co.uk


PICTURES: Samantha Mayling


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