InteleTravel has expanded its head office team on the back of record sales and agent commissions. Geraldine Nolan has been promoted to the newly created role of director, partner relations as InteleTravel’s 2025 Partner Engagement Programme gains momentum. The programme has a full calendar of confirmed activity for preferred partners. Barbro Kurkov joins as marketing communications executive from Global Payment Solutions company Privalgo, and reports to Nolan. Pearl Vora bolsters the finance team as finance executive support, after gaining a Master of Sciences degree with a merit in finance and investments. Vora reports to head of finance, Chris Walsh. The Republic of Ireland also sees the appointment of Ann-Marie Durkin into the new role of country manager. Durkin reports to UK & Ireland managing director Tricia Handley-Hughes. In the UK, the homeworking firm reported its best-ever trading month in October with sales up 95%, transactions up 86% and advisor commissions rising by 138%, compared to last year. For the year to date, sales are up 66% and average booking values are up 5%. Handley-Hughes said: “Our growth over the last five years has been beyond expectation, so the time is right to review the current structure.” This expansion will help us achieve our 2025 vision and deliver our new training, recognition and reward programmes.” Overall, 2024 has seen a record year of growth globally for the group, which is on target to achieve £1bn in sales in the calendar year. 

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  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.

InteleTravel will welcome over 500 travel agents and around 40 partners in Sorrento next month at its biggest ever conference. InteleTravel Quest (ITQ) will take place at the Hilton Palace Sorrento, from October 10 to 12, with the theme ‘The Future is You’, and host a total of 600 delegates. The emphasis will be on agent productivity, effective use and measurement of social media, and analysing the growth in the homeworking sector. These are all areas that will help agents boost commission earnings. The event’s headline sponsors are Classic Collection for land and Virgin Voyages for cruise, while the destination sponsor is Sorrento. It is hosted by Andy Harmer, OBE, the UK and Ireland MD for CLIA and Andrew Farr, PR content manager at Classic Collection. Making her debut will be social media guru Clare Groombridge from The Social Game and there will be an agent panel discussion on diversity and inclusion. Dimitris Kafetzis, captain of Celebrity Ascent, will reveal his thoughts from the bridge in his first-ever agent interview. Among industry experts speaking will be White Hart Associates head of travel and leisure Chris Photi, who will address trends and challenges. Suppliers including Major Travel and Royal Caribbean Cruises will interview agents about the service they provide and the importance of customer relationships. Founder and president James Ferrara will fly in to update agents on the most successful year to date for InteleTravel. It now has 20,000 UK and Ireland agents, and will be joined by the US technical and operations team who will present on the company’s latest innovations. A comprehensive programme of breakout classroom sessions will give agents the opportunity to gain a deeper knowledge on a range of topical subjects and suppliers. A programme of entertainment will conclude with the gala dinner on Saturday, October 12. “The conference has been the biggest event challenge to date,” said InteleTravel UK and Ireland managing director Tricia Handley-Hughes. “The strong attendance numbers represent the opportunities that lie ahead for both agents and suppliers.” 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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  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.