Midcounties homeworking division The Personal Travel Agents at Co‑operative Travel has reported a spike in sales of UK and long-haul holidays.
Sales of UK holidays were up 44% while long-haul sales rose 28% in the first six months of 2018, compared with overall growth in sales of 8% against the same period last year.
The average selling price went up by 4% to £966 per passenger.
Sheena Whittle, head of The Personal Travel Agents at Co-operative Travel, said: “We are delighted to report a very strong first half of the year in terms of sales. The summer months weren’t easy, but we worked hard to help our Personal Travel Agents identify the shifting trends in what customers were buying and to adapt their strategies accordingly.”
The homeworking group’s results came as the division released the results of its fifth annual survey of happiness among its homeworkers. It found that 97% were either ‘happy’ or ‘very happy’ with the group – up from 89% in 2017.
The survey found 75% – the same as last year – were meeting their expectations on earnings, and 90% were happy with marketing support, up from 84% last year.
“We strive to create a supportive and nurturing working environment for our personal travel agents and use our survey results to direct our focus and investment,” said Whittle.
“We have expanded our Agent Support and Marketing teams in recent years to provide additional support and direction to our homeworkers and this is really paying off.
“The statistic that makes me most proud is that, in the 2018 survey, 97 per cent of our Personal Travel Agents say that when they sit at their desk in the morning, ready to start work, they feel either happy or very happy. I’d like to see that reach 100 per cent in 2019.”