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.
