Anne Wheatley, account executive, ABC Holiday Extras
Education: five O’ Levels and one CSE. Anne then completed the DETG Diploma, based on COTAC, earned a distinction and became a fully fledged travel consultant.
First travel job: trainee travel consultant in the West Midlands with Don Everell Transglobe.
Career path: Anne moved back to Scotland with Pickfords Travel in Inverness where she became assistant manager, then on to ILG as its representative for the East of Scotland before becoming business development manager. After the collapse of ILG Anne worked for Sunworld, based in the North of England, in a business development role. After a brief spell with Shearings, which sadly ended in redundancy, Anne’s love of Scotland won her over and she moved back to take her one and only job outside the industry, in computer training. Anne hated the job and hated being out of travel, but the mistake made her determined to get back into travel. Her next move was to the Travel Training Company where she stayed for six years, after which she decided to get back into the sharp end of travel. Anne moved to ABC Holiday Extras and is based up in Scotland. Back on the business development side, she now manages to combine her ideal job with living in the place she loves best.
Advice for people wishing to develop a career in travel: “My career consisted of a few planned moves, but often life is way beyond your control. My advice is to stick at it, keep your head down and keep working. Opportunities will turn up, and things will work out.”