Helen Smith, commercial manager, TV Travel Shop
Education: six O’ levels and four CSEs.
First travel job: worked as an administration and travel consultant, Hank Sharpe Travel, Middlesborough, a cruise and long-haul specialist, aged 17.
Career path: Helen moved on to work for Late Escapes in Darlington as a senior sales consultant then moved on to a commercial role which involved the updating and monitoring of competitor activity on Teletext. She then moved to Hoppaway Travel in Durham as a senior travel consultant in 1994. At Hoppaway she worked to establish sales, branding and tactical deals for this new travel agent. In April 1995 Helen joined Lincoln Travel in Newcastle as an advertising and business development manager. In this role she had responsibility for productivity and budgets on all of their text based advertising, including ITV, Sky and Channel 5. In January 1999 Helen joined TV Travel Shop, the UK’s first home shopping travel channel, as a commercial manager, based at the Bromley headquarters. In this position Helen sources deals for television with tour operators and works to build relationships with existing and new operators. TV Travel Shop appears on cable, satellite and digital channels and on ITV Teletext, plus 1,600 Teletext pages on satellite and cable TV so Helen’s role is a busy and challenging one.
Advice for people wishing to develop a career in travel: “I think a strong personality is vital for a successful career in the travel industry, plus a passion for the business. In my role, negotiation skills and a sales-driven approach are essential, as is the ability to juggle many tasks at once! Enthusiasm, a willingness to learn and team skills are also very important.”