Tricia Handley-Hughes of Inteletravel announced the exciting location for the TravelQuest 2025 conference, revealing that it will be held in Porto. Following a successful event in Sorrento, expectations are high, with plans for a large celebration and an anticipated attendance of over 650 agents, reflecting significant growth in participation.  

  Tricia Handley Hughes shares insights on the evolution of Inteletravel, reflecting on its impressive progress since its inception. She acknowledges the initial skepticism from established agents but emphasizes how ongoing training has transformed the landscape for homeworking agents. The conference in Sento highlights the commitment to education, with agents eagerly participating in various sessions to enhance their skills. Tricia underscores the importance of adapting training to boost productivity, enabling agents to reach significant commission milestones. This focus not only strengthens agent confidence but also solidifies Inteletravel's position in a competitive market.  

  Homeworking giant InteleTravel is projecting sales for the calendar year 2024 will reach £143m in the UK and Ireland – up 70% on 2023.   President and founder James Ferrara will reveal the phenomenal growth in his keynote speech at the InteleTravel Quest (ITQ) conference in Sorrento tomorrow (Friday).   Last year, InteleTravel in the UK and Ireland achieved sales of £85m and the business has already comfortably surpassed this number, with £95m of sales achieved in 2024 by the end of August.   The UK is outperforming its main market, the US, which is projected to have a growth of 36% in the calendar year 2024.   Cruising is now making up 17% of sales in the UK and Ireland after a deliberate strategy to increase turnover in this market.   Virgin Voyages recently named InteleTravel as its Homeworking Agency of the Year and sales manager Jack Atherton said: “InteleTravel has shown consistent growth not only in their sales delivery but in the breadth of individuals within their membership who have successfully made VV bookings in the past year.  We are thrilled to have them onboard as one of our trusted First Mates.”   James Ferrara said: “We clearly have touched a. nerve in the UK and Ireland.  There is something that resonates with our model.   “Training in conjunction with the partners and our technology is making the difference for us.  We have had a real focus on cruising in the UK, it brings a high percentage of repeat passengers.  Cruising is so important in the US and we knew there was a huge opportunity in the UK when we came to this market.”   James Ferrara will reveal other record figures at the conference and there will be a presentation on its ground-breaking AI developments.

Homeworking giant InteleTravel has launched a travel agent loyalty programme which will reward them with luxury goods, electronics, holidays and more. Called IntelePerks, it has been designed to reward loyalty and stimulate sales among its 18,000+ advisors across the UK and Ireland. Details are being finalised for the scheme, which will enable travel agents to earn points that can be redeemed against rewards for a range of activities. These include completion of training modules, attending industry events, participating in surveys, supporting preferred partners and more. Rewards include over 1,000 goods such as jewellery, luggage, sports equipment, home décor and electrical goods from top brands including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Sony. Travel rewards range from all-inclusive resorts, hotel nights, ocean and river cruises, wine and culinary tours, and spa retreats. IntelePerks comes after a record start to the year with sales in March up 42% compared with the same month last year. InteleTravel UK and Ireland managing director Tricia Handley-Hughes said: “We’ve taken the loyalty and incentive idea from airlines, hotels and other suppliers and used it for the first time within an agency operation.” “Commissions come first, then jewellery, electronics, fashion, cruises, hotel stays and similar redemption opportunities.” The programme will be launched in phases as the technology progresses. IntelePerks is open to all InteleTravel travel agents at no cost. 

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Homerworker agency group InteleTravel has acquired MGME (McVeigh Global Meetings & Events), a full-service global events agency. MGME has over 30 years of expertise in event planning, strategy meeting management, incentive travel programs and creative production. It works with many large corporations and associations. The new acquisition follows InteleTravel’s purchase of corporate travel alliance Hickory Global Partners. This the latest step in a strategy to leverage its leisure travel success and resources into the blended travel segment. The MGME integration will empower Hickory member corporate agencies and travel departments to offer event production, meeting planning, and conference logistical services. MGME will become a wholly owned unit of InteleTravel while operating as an independent brand just like Hickory. MGME and its clients will benefit from InteleTravel’s resources and scale, as the three companies join in business development, purchasing power and efficiencies. Hickory will provide air fulfilment for MGME events through its Hickory Solutions365 launched last year; and the three companies will consolidate some supply partner contracts for hotels, air, car, and even cruise. MGME books over 100,000 room nights annually. InteleTravel’s charter and market-leading relationships with cruise lines will help develop MGME event-at-sea offerings. InteleTravel ended 2023 with nearly $1 billion in sales and a unique network of 100,000 travel advisors. New resources and opportunities for its independent travel agents include a new educational program to teach them how to generate qualified leads for MGME services. Additionally, MGME will enhance the attendee experience and logistics of InteleTravel’s calendar of over 40 large-scale events each year. MGME produces upwards of 1,000 events and conferences annually across more than 70 countries, with a value of travel and hospitality spend of over $500 million each year. “Getting behind a leader like MGME makes sense, while being able to represent top quality event and exhibition offerings is a strong competitive advantage for both Hickory members and InteleTravel advisors,” said James R. Ferrara, InteleTravel President. 

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InteleTravel reported a 10.3% increase in average booking values in the first two weeks of January, compared with last year. It came as many travel advisors focused on luxury sales. 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, which is 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 1 to January 15. The highest individual booking among the top 50 was £134,529 with the lowest £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 MD Tricia Handley-Hughes. “Confidence in booking through a trusted travel advisor is definitely back.” 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 travel advisors upsell, followed by a full year of confirmed partner activity.” 

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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.  

Home-working firm InteleTravel continues to bolster its home agent workforce. Speaking at the company’s conference for UK agents in Malaga, CEO James Ferrera announced UK agent numbers have reached 16,500. That is a marked increase on 11,500 in summer 2022. There are now 500 Ireland based agents. New entrants are being tempted by InteleTravel’s low-cost entry into the industry. The business generated a turnover of £95 million, up 50% on 2022, paying out £4.5 million in agent commissions. The average transaction value was £1,500.

InteleTravel travel agents’ goodwill is being put to use in Kenya to assist school children. Donations made by advisors at last year’s InteleTravel conference in Belfast have been matched by InteleTravel head office. Working through Just A Drop, the project has funded sustainable facilities enabling school children in Kenya to access clean water. Just A Drop constructed a rainwater harvesting tank and handwashing stations at Kavuvwani Primary School in Kitui county, Kenya. Around 315 children and their teachers now have access to clean drinking water, supported by water sanitation and hygiene training. There is also a programme of soap making. Menstrual health and hygiene are taught to both boys and girls and the children are taught how to make reusable sanitary pads. These activities have helped reduce absence from school. Previously, children had to bring to school water from a nearby river that was dirty and unsuitable for drinking. This led l to children often being sick or absent from school. Fetching water was also unsafe due to roaming wild animals. “In addition to safe drinking, the water will help other elements we tend to forget, like planting trees - all leading to an improved learning environment,” said InteleTravel UK and Ireland MD, Tricia Handley-Hughes. “I’m proud that our advisors recognised the importance of supporting such an important cause.”

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.