Homeworking firm InteleTravel has made a new travel acquisition move with a majority stake in UK tour operator Major Travel for an undisclosed amount. It says the acquisition will deliver significant benefits to both companies and travel agents. The travel acquisition comes as Major Travel celebrates its 50^th anniversary. The investment will enable Major Travel to grow, while still retaining its operational independence. Tapping InteleTravel’s global agent community, Major Travel will gain enhanced buying power, enabling it to secure exclusive contracts with suppliers. This will allow all UK and Ireland travel agents to compete more effectively against direct-sell operators, the company says. Major Travel will remain a trade-exclusive operator and has begun a recruitment drive to double its workforce by the end of the year. InteleTravel plans to integrate Major Travel's premium and luxury long-haul holidays and other inventory into its proprietary booking platform, which will create new revenue opportunities for agents. Major Travel MD Qasim Gulamhusein will retain his shareholding and continue to lead the company. All current staff will remain in their existing roles. "The biggest winner from this investment will be UK and Ireland travel agents, who will gain access to an enhanced product range and an increase in expert in-house advisors for every region worldwide,” said Gulamhusein. Major Travel is set to launch in Ireland in 2024, with further plans to launch a full-service operation in North America in 2025. 

Related News Stories:  Up to 11 million Brits plan a UK Easter holiday trip    

InteleTravel president and co-founder James Ferrara made his first-ever visit to Ireland to celebrate St Patrick’s Day and congratulate Irish travel agents. InteleTravel launched in Ireland last year and already grown to over 600 advisors. At The Strand Hotel in Limerick, Ferrara commended their growth and performance, and announced IntelePerks, a new dedicated advisor recognition and reward programme. Travel agents can earn points that are then redeemed for luxury goods and services. The evening was supported by preferred partners Club Med, Riviera Travel, Ratehawk, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Flexible Autos. A prize draw saw Dublin-based travel agent Assunta Di Nardi win a three-night luxury break with Club Med, while agent Aisling Buckley won a £50 amazon voucher, from Riviera Travel. InteleTravel will return to The Strand Hotel in Limerick on May 18 for the first Dreammaker event in Ireland. This features a full day of education and learning for advisors new to the business. 

Related News Stories:  

InteleTravel just reported its second biggest revenue earning month in the six years since it launched in the UK. Last month, overall holiday booking revenue was up 47% on the same period last year, with an increase of 5.5% in average booking values. Long-haul bookings have been strong and a surge of European holiday bookings have accelerated the growth. InteleTravel UK and Ireland MD Tricia Handley-Hughes cited the strong relationship with key suppliers as a key factor during what is sometimes a slower month. “February has been an astonishing month. The first quarter has proved immensely busy for our 2024 Partner Engagement Programme.” “With plans in place for 2024, we predict our suppliers will be reaping the rewards of the collaboration,” she added. 

Related News Stories:  Inteletravel.com - TravelMole    

  InteleTravel reported a 10.3% increase in average booking values as many advisors focussed on luxury sales in the first two weeks of January, compared with the same period last year.   The rise comes in addition to a 10% jump in sales during the same period with the top selling destinations including the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Cruise holidays are now accounting for 10% of turnover, a 20% improvement on the first two weeks of January 2023.   Among the top 50 performing advisors, the average sale was £26,973 from January 1st to January 15^th.  The highest individual booking among the top 50 was £134,529 and the lowest was £14,696.   “Despite the decrease in general retail spend towards the end of 2023, customers want to confirm their holiday options early and take full advantage of great prices on offer,” said InteleTravel UK and Ireland managing director Tricia Handley-Hughes.   “Confidence in booking through a trusted travel advisor is definitely back, with an appreciation of the effort and time taken to secure the right holiday for customers.”   After hosting its first Luxury Summit in December, InteleTravel is now using Artificial Intelligence to streamline its back-office processes and free up more time for advisors to concentrate on selling holidays.   “Training and engagement remain the key to success,” said Handley-Hughes.  “We’ve introduced a new dedicated training programme on key topics that will help advisors upsell, followed by a full year of confirmed partner activity.”

InteleTravel has hosted its first-ever Luxury Travel Summit in central London. It attracted over 100 of its top travel agents. The Summit focused on helping advisors understand the market, and deliver appropriate products. InteleTravel’s luxury partners supported the event with educational content, including presentations on top suites and accommodation, private jets, luxury cruises and desirable destinations. InteleTravel has a global focus on luxury travel, due to being more resilient to economic downturns. One travel agent who attended the event, Jo Baiao, achieved the top single sales transaction for October of £176,234. InteleTravel’s top 10 performing advisors amassed £827,665 of sales for the same month. UK and Ireland MD Tricia Handley-Hughes said: "Our 2024 bookings remain buoyant. Getting advisors to recognise that luxury means different things to different people, should result in repeat business.” “Many advisors who attended this event already sell luxury, but we also welcomed newer agents to this sector."

  Graham McKenzie interviews James Fererra, head of InteleTravel, during the ITQ 23 conference. The event, showcasing significant growth, reflects InteleTravel's ambition to expand its network of 17,000 UK and Republic of Ireland independent contractors to several thousand globally. Fererra emphasizes maintaining a distinct UK-Ireland cultural identity within the American-owned company. The conversation highlights InteleTravel's unique approach, balancing seriousness with a fun atmosphere, acknowledging the part-time nature of agents and providing accessible education. The discussion underscores the enjoyable and educational nature of the conference and InteleTravel's commitment to the travel industry's dynamic and diverse landscape.  

Homeworking firm InteleTravel will host its biggest overseas conference yet next month in Malaga. Around 400 agents are confirmed to attend the event. InteleTravel Quest (ITQ) will be held at the Trade Fair and Congress Centre from November 9 – 11. Entitled ‘Our Time to Shine’, the focus will be on helping agents achieve even more, following a record year for InteleTravel. It achieved overall revenue growth of 46% with cruise representing 15% of sales to date. Among key speakers, US-based founder and president James Ferrara will fly in to give details of the company’s performance as well as unveiling plans for 2024. He will be joined by a US-based executive team who will share best practices. Andy Harmer, OBE, the UK and Ireland MD for CLIA and Andrew Farr, PR content manager at Classic Collection and Classic Packages, will showcase five years of InteleTravel in the UK. In a session entitled ‘Zero to Hero’, they will chart the company’s challenging start through to its current prominent position in the UK travel industry. ABTA CEO Mark Tanzer will present at the conference, while Chris Photi, head of travel and leisure at accountants White Hart Associates, and InteleTravel legal counsel Joanna Kolatsis will be among those on a panel discussing the future of compliance. Agents will also play a big role on the stage, with top-selling advisors discussing their tips for success Accessibility will heavily feature in the company’s programme for the first time Social media gurus Yaya and Lloyd from Hand Luggage Only, and training guru Debbee Dale, will be speaking and there will be presentations from selected InteleTravel preferred partners. A comprehensive programme of breakout classroom sessions will give agents the opportunity to gain a deeper knowledge on a range of subjects and suppliers. Destination sponsors are the Spanish Tourist Board and the region of Andalucia with headline sponsor Classic Collection and Classic Package Holidays. A programme of entertainment will culminate with the gala dinner at the Automotive and Fashion Museum in Malaga on Saturday, November 11. “I am absolutely delighted with the conference content we have in store for our agents and suppliers,” said InteleTravel UK and Ireland MD, Tricia Handley-Hughes.

Homeworking firm InteleTravel’s CLIA Cruise Week campaign has paid dividends with a surge in cruise bookings this month. Cruise sales in the first two weeks of September accounted for 13% of all InteleTravel’s bookings. That rate is double the 6.5% in the same period last year. InteleTravel’s cruise booking campaign featured dedicated cruise podcasts, webinars, Facebook interviews, newsletters and preferred partner promotions. They all launched within the first week in September. Meanwhile, InteleTravel has chosen National Cruise Week to launch its in-house cruise booking engine. It has quality images, and live feeds, providing another channel for cruise bookings by its advisors. “Our cruise success is aided by the support of our cruise partners who have delivered a great travel advisor engagement programme,” said InteleTravel UK and Ireland MD Tricia Handley-Hughes. It included ship visits for agents. “Ship visits are critical to converting enquiries into cruise bookings and those cruise partners offering multiple ship visits are reaping the rewards."

Home-working firm InteleTravel will support next month’s Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) Cruise Week with a programme of activity for travel agents and preferred partners. InteleTravel says cruise sales across its 15,000 UK and Ireland travel agents remain strong and now accounts for 10% of business. It is targeting this to rise to 15% by the end of 2024. UK and Ireland MD Tricia Handley-Hughes says CLIA Cruise Week provides an ideal opportunity to focus on river cruise sales growth and support the current ocean cruise sales trend. CLIA Cruise Week runs from September 18-24. It coincides with the launch of the InteleTravel Cruise Booking engine, which is a one-stop platform for searches, bookings, itineraries and ship information. InteleTravel’s dedicated events for preferred partners over the next month include podcasts, targeted webinars, a river cruise round table, and a full campaign of advertising. “Post-pandemic our sales have shown steady growth.” “We have so many CLIA agents who attend ship visits, participate in our cruise training and see the value of repeat business,” Handley-Hughes added. “We are confident we can achieve our goals and strong backing from our cruise partners will complement the CLIA Cruise Week programme.”  

Customers are spending more on their holiday bookings, a new survey of InteleTravel agents says. They said 82% are spending the same or more than they did last year. Inteletravel gathered data from 1,000 travel agents and found 36% of their clients were spending the same as last year. Nearly one-quarter 24% were spending up to 25% more and 16% were paying 25-50% more. It found 6% were spending over 50% more than last year. Short-haul trips to the Mediterranean are the most popular, accounting for 53% of bookings this year. Long-haul trips account for 27% of bookings. Although spending more money, 91% of agents stated their clients were more concerned about higher prices than any other issue. Flight cancellations and crowded destinations also featured among their concerns. Many travel advisors, (67%), expect their business to grow in 2023, compared with last year. Some 18% expect growth of more than 50%. Only 10% are expecting their business to decline. InteleTravel recently reported a 58% increase in sales with a 14% rise in average booking values in May 2023. Cruise sales have now increased to 8% of the total revenues. Unsurprisingly, InteleTravel agents are generally optimistic about next year and beyond. Beach holidays account for 65% of the trips taken by customers, while all-inclusive holidays were particularly popular. The survey found that people are opting for shorter trips, with 5-7 nights being the most popular duration.

Homeworking firm InteleTravel will hold its 2023 InteleTravel Quest (ITQ) conference in Malaga, Spain from November 9- 11^. It takes place at the Trade Fair and Congress Centre. The theme of the conference, ‘Our time to shine’, charts the five-year journey from launch to its current position with over 14,000 advisors in the UK and 500 in Ireland. Within 24 hours of launch many Preferred Partners had confirmed attendance and 150 advisors registered within 12 hours. The numbers are expected to grow within the next few weeks. Destination sponsors are Spanish Tourist Board and the region of Andalucía. Manuel Butler, director of the Spanish Tourist Office London said: “The Andalucían city has a rich history, making it the ideal location for InteleTravel's comprehensive training event.” Headline sponsor is Classic Collection, an InteleTravel Preferred Partner. Strategic account manager Jorge Quibell said: “Following on from our mutually successful partnership with InteleTravel, Classic Collection and Classic Package Holidays are delighted to be headlining. Conference content will include sessions on the imminent changes to the compliance framework, a focus on accessibility, senior panel discussions, and supplier-delivery of classroom sessions. InteleTravel recently reported a 58% increase in sales with a 14% rise in average booking values in May 2023.

Homeworking agent network InteleTravel has seen a 58% increase in sales in the year to May 2023, compared with last year. InteleTravel, which has 14,000 advisors in the UK and 500 in Ireland, has also seen booking values in the same period rise 14% to an average £1,500. The Mediterranean and particularly Spain are the most popular destinations, and there has also been a sharp rise in cruise booking sales. Membership of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and intensive training of advisors has led to a growth in luxury and mainstream cruise sales. UK and Ireland MD Tricia Handley-Hughes said its training programme has boosted homeworking agent confidence to upsell to clients. “Word is spreading among the supplier community that our agents are selling on par or above their average industry sales,” she said. “We are also revamping our mandatory induction training so that new agents from outside the industry can better understand the regulatory environment and sell with confidence.”