Bespoke travel firm enjoys record revenues
A travel firm which specialises in putting together bespoke packages for its customers has seen record growth over the last 12 months.
Travel Counsellors saw its total transaction value passing the £600m for the first time since the company’s launch in 1994.
The news comes as the company reported a 17% increase in sales made for 2019 departures to destinations outside of the European Union.
Top locations booked were Florida (23% increase), Dubai (12%) and Mexico (11%).
Sales for 2019 departures to New York have also increased by a third suggesting that the company’s customers are looking beyond Europe to long-haul destinations.
Growing demand from the corporate travel sector played a significant role in the company’s increasing sales figures.
The last 12 months has seen Travel Counsellors celebrate its best ever year for global corporate travel sales since the company’s launch, totalling £151m and representing a 16% increase on 2017.
The company’s strong growth figures follow the secondary management buyout of Travel Counsellors by Vitruvian Partners in June, bringing a close to three years of investment from Equistone Partners Europe.
During this period, the business invested in a £2m new head office in Manchester and experienced rapid growth, with annual total transaction values growing by £130m to £512m.
Matt Davies, the ex-UK chief of Tesco, was also named the non-executive chairman of the company in September, which coincided with Travel Counsellors’ 16th consecutive year of double-digit growth.
Travel Counsellors provides a personal approach to booking corporate and leisure travel.
The company’s travel services are delivered by over 1,800 Travel Counsellors in seven countries, who own their own business franchise and offer a highly bespoke service with round-the-clock care.
Travel Counsellors also offers complete financial protection on all of its customers’ travel bookings.
As a result, the company was named ‘Best Independent Travel Agency’ at The British Travel Awards 2018, whilst also being named for the second time as the ‘Growing Business of the Year’ in the large company category at the Amazon Growing Business Awards 2018.
Steve Byrne, chief executive at Travel Counsellors, said: “2018 has been a record-breaking year for Travel Counsellors, for both corporate and leisure travel sales.
“The results are a huge testament to the care and attention our individual Travel Counsellors and global support teams based across seven countries show, when looking after the travel arrangements of the hundreds of thousands of customers that travel with us each year.
“We’ve seen an increase in interest and sales to destinations outside of the EU next year, and anticipate this trend to continue as customers seek more value for money beyond the Eurozone.
“Our sales figures highlight that corporate travellers are still travelling for business, just as leisure customers are booking holidays to look forward to in 2019.
“As always, we remain focussed on creating trusted relationships with our customers who rely on us to ensure that they enjoy seamless travel experiences, wherever they are in the world.”
