Jet2holidays is to recruit for seven positions in its trade sales team – including two new roles.
The operator, which has seen trade sales grow at a faster rate than direct bookings in the last year, currently has a 19-strong team supporting travel agents.
“We’ve got a big team already,” said head of trade Alan Cross. “But I’m looking to increase that significantly.”
More: Jet2holidays unveils trade site upgrades
Jet2holidays ‘closing in on Tui’ with Atol expansion plans
One of the new roles will be a dedicated social media and marketing manager specific to the trade, who will work with agents to help them pick the right assets to boost Jet2holiays sales.
Cross said: “We’ve got fantastic knowledge within the company and we are using that expertise to show agents how to use social media channels.”
The other new role will be a non-retail account manager to cater for the growing number of homeworking agents.
Cross said: “Nearly 20% of trade bookings are from homeworkers or call centres. At the moment we are treating them the same as people who work in a shop. We need someone dedicated to that market. They get their customers differently, so we need to give them the relevant content.”
Meanwhile, the company is bringing across 19 promotional executives to support the trade team in the peak selling season in January, February and March 2020.
They will move from seasonal roles within the Jet2holidays and Jet2.com business, such as cabin crew, ground operations and destination managers, and go to trade events to help promote Jet2holidays products.
Cross explained: “These are people who know the brand inside out – and it’s a great way to keep them in jobs over the quieter travelling period.”