It’s been interesting seeing the reaction to our email alert about Big Brother’s new travel agent housemate this week.
Last Friday, we revealed that award-winning agent Keeley Johnson was heading for the house, and this week we’ve spoken to a few people who know her well.
Some of our readers felt this wasn’t the type of story they wanted to hear about; that it was all about popular culture and had no relevance to the travel industry (and they told us so in comments left on the article).
But even if you put aside the number of people who read the story online – double any other this week – this seems a strange view.
Of course, we still cover the latest news from the very top on Travel Weekly and Travolution, but surely an incredibly well-known frontline agent representing the industry in front of millions of viewers is worth knowing about?
It seems as though Keeley has decided her best bet is to take charge in the house – and it remains to be seen whether that will be a good plan.
It will be fascinating to see whether the skills she’s honed turning around struggling agency branches and boosting sales for the Co-op serve her well.
Perhaps it’s less about the nature of the story and more about the perception of the programme. If one of our agent readers had been representing the industry on Mastermind, I wonder if the reaction would have been the same?
Either way, it’s worth knowing about. Because like it or not, Keeley’s performance in the house could have a huge impact on a lot of people’s opinions of travel agents.
- Email me at lucy.huxley@travelweekly.co.uk