Teletext Holidays ditches in-house retail partner
Teletext Holidays has ditched its in-house retailer, This is Travel, and has signed a new deal with Broadway Travel.
A spokeswoman said Teletext had decided to outsource its retail side and focus on its media business as it moves to a digital-only future.
The company believes the deal with Broadway will also help it expand its retail presence in Tesco stores.
This is Travel was launched two years ago and has a 40-strong call centre in Barnet.
Last year, two shops under the This is Travel brand were opened in Chesterfield in Derbyshire and Pitsea in Essex.
Teletext Holidays managing director Victoria Sanders went to the Barnet call centre in person to inform staff, who are all now in consultation as part of the TUPE process.
The company said it expects that some staff may cross over to Broadway Travel in January.
“This has been a very difficult decision for me, but the partnership with Broadway Travel makes commercial sense at a time when we are driving business growth and developing the brand,” she said.
“It’s our media business which is the powerhouse of Teletext Holidays. As we shift to be digital-only, our focus needs to be on delivering market-leading digital platforms for our advertisers.
“We want to let Broadway Travel use their expertise to deliver our retail business, which includes supporting us with the expansion of our shops within Tesco.”
With the help of Broadway Travel, Teletext Holidays plans to open 10 more holiday shops in different Tesco locations throughout the UK.
The shops will be branded Teletext Holidays but will be run by Broadway.
Broadway Travel is based in Luton and has been in business since 1948.
It specialises in beach and city breaks to holiday destinations both in Florida, Europe and The Caribbean.
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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