A return to the high street

A Cardiff travel agent is backing traditional bricks-and- mortar agencies after deciding to reopen his shop 15 months after closing it to concentrate on a cruise-only call centre.

Advantage member Gill’s Travel had been a feature of Rhiwbina high street in Cardiff since 1957 until owner Alistair Gill, whose father founded the company, opted to become a cruise specialist last year.

After customer requests, Gill has decided to return to traditional travel agency and will reopen his shop next month, which has been leased to a charity for a year.

Gill said he saw a chance to capitalise on his growing database of cruise clients to sell other holidays, such as long-haul, city breaks and tailor-made. He is also about to launch a website aimed at long-haul and late-availability markets.

“We saw the opportunity to cross-sell to our existing database of cruise clients, many of whom were asking if we did other sorts of travel. There is always going to be room for a traditional high-street agency.

“I don’t expect to sell a lot of beach holidays, the days of bucket-and-spade stuff have gone because a lot of families book over the phone. But there are opportunities when you have people who want good advice.”

Gill does not regard leaving the high street as a mistake but considers returning as a natural development of his business. “We have grown our team to look at different areas. Closing the shop was the right decision at the time.”