CONFERENCE Travel Counsellors Conference 2023: Homeworking agency celebrat T
Travel Counsellors reports record £933m in bookings 20%
ravel Counsellors reported record sales approaching £1 billion for its 2023 financial year.
The homeworking agency made
sales totalling £933 million for the 12 months to October, up 25% on 2022, with corporate sales breaking the £200 million barrier for the first time by contributing £210 million. Travel Counsellors chief executive
Steve Byrne said the success of the past 12 months was down to the way agents looked after their customers throughout the pandemic. “It’s been an outstanding year all
because of our people,” he said. “At our conference last year, we said
we wanted to capitalise on the hard work and sacrifices our people made during the pandemic to look after their customers, and we’ve had a really strong 12 months because of that. “I’m delighted that average
earnings of agents, who are the lifeblood of our business, have
Increase in average earnings by travel counsellors this year
increased by more than 20% year on year, which reflects the power of our technology platform, combined with our supportive community.” Byrne revealed the company
has already booked £350 million of departures for 2024, a 30% increase on the same stage last year, despite a “challenging external market” which he said the company “must be wary of”. “I’m really optimistic and excited
about where we’re investing in the business to make things better for our travel counsellors and our team,” he said. “And I’m really excited about the opportunity we’ve got to grow over the course of the medium term,
Some of the 1,750-plus delegates at the Manchester Central Convention Complex
but I am cautious about the overall economic outlook and we therefore need to be smart about where we invest.” Travel Counsellors took on
more than 340 agents in 2023, mainly through the acquisition of Birmingham-based agency Holidaysplease, taking the number of overall franchisees above 2,000. Meanwhile, 70 people have joined the company’s support team in its head office. Byrne is hopeful this growth will
enable Travel Counsellors to achieve its targets of £1 billion in sales in 2024 and £1.2 billion in 2025. High-profile guest speakers
included documentarian Louis Theroux, former Paralympian Ellie Simmonds, broadcaster Fearne Cotton and entrepreneur Sara Davies. Conference host Vic Trundle confirmed next year’s conference will return to Manchester from November 22-24.
AGENTS’ VIEWS
Richard Hoyle Eight months with T
ravel Counsellors
“After this weekend, I’m really excited to grow my business even more. Meeting lots of new
suppliers at the trade fair and broadening my knowledge has been the best part for me and I’ve loved chatting to other travel counsellors face-to-face. The speakers have all been great and the organisation of the event has really impressed me.”
Vicky Harrison-Storey Five years with T
ravel Counsellors
“I always find it a motivational and uplifting weekend. It’s really great to come together as
a team – it gives us all a chance to reset. It’s been a really busy
few years and you start to burn out a little bit, but by coming here you can regroup and go again with more energy. It gives you your mojo back. I really liked the talks by Fearne Cotton and Ellie Simmonds.”
Gemma Reynolds Five years with T
ravel Counsellors
“This was my first conference and I found it really beneficial; I learnt a lot. I feel pumped
and ready for the new season, which I’ve got high hopes for. Meeting lots of other travel counsellors, suppliers and the head office team was so much fun. I think my favourite speaker was Maggie Alphonsi – I took a lot from her talk which I’m looking forward to implementing in my business.”
Agency creates TC Journ
Travel Counsellors is creating a library of itineraries that its agents can adapt and sell to their customers. TC Journeys was unveiled by
managing director Kirsten Hughes, who told the group’s homeworkers its aim is to “make your lives a lot easier”. The itineraries will be available via the
agency’s booking platform, Phenix, and rolled out in two phases. “We know multi-centre itineraries are
becoming more popular,” said Hughes. “And we know that each time you get
one you’ve got to start from scratch on Phenix. So rather than taking you hours
Steve Byrne
10
30 NOVEMBER 2023
travelweekly.co.uk
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