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Advantage to play Lord Sugar to one lucky agent
Advantage Travel Centres has launched a competition to offer one of its members at least £8,000 of advice to help them activate a long-term business plan.
Speaking at the association’s annual conference in Malaga, leisure director Julia Lo Bue-Said said Advantage had set up the initiative after discovering how few travel agents had a business plan in place.
When she asked the 400 delegates on the opening day of the conference how many had a one-year plan, only a few hands went up; when she asked how many had a three-year plan, most of these went down.
Bue-Said said she was "gobsmacked" fewer than 20% of Advantage members attending the conference claimed to have even a short-term business plan in place. "Living month to month is not a way to run your business," she said.
"We want our membership to flourish. The Advantage team, with all its expertise, can help."
Advantage will donate £5,000 of advice to the agency that comes up with the best business plan while travel accountants Elman Wall has pledged to provide financial advice worth £2,000.
After she announced the initiative at the opening of the conference, Bue-Said said she had been approached by other businesses willing to give their support.
"It would be great if by the time we get home the prize is worth £10,000," she said.
Members will be invited to submit their proposals to Advantage by the end of August and the winning agent will be given support to activate their business plan.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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