Greater Manchester travel agency celebrates 35th anniversary

Greater Manchester agency PR World Travel celebrated its 35th anniversary by hosting longstanding customers for drinks and nibbles in its Radcliffe store.

The company, founded on March 1, 1991, welcomed more than 40 clients to the shop on Saturday to mark the milestone.

Business partner Tania Kay, who joined the agency in 1998, said it was “absolutely amazing” to be celebrating the firm’s 35th anniversary, adding: “During Covid it was touch and go whether the business would survive, so to come out of that was a major achievement.”

Customers on Saturday were offered drinks, cake and nibbles, as well as the chance to win a £500 voucher from easyJet holidays.

“After 35 years we’ve built up a really good customer base and Saturday proved that with the number of customers coming in – the amount of cards and gifts we received outweighed the number we gave out,” said Kay, who rejoined the agency in 2008 following time away after having children.

She added: “We had someone in on Friday who booked with us in 1991 and we had someone in on Saturday who booked with us in 1992.”

She said an increasing number of clients are the grown-up children of longstanding customers.

“We have customers whose families are now booking with us, so we’re getting the next generation,” she said, adding: “It’s weird when the kids come in and we’ve booked them when they were children going to the kids’ clubs.”

Reflecting on the major changes over the years, she said the arrival of the internet was one of the most significant developments.

“It’s increased our productivity and helped our background knowledge, but we do miss the good old days,” she said, adding: “Anybody who has been in travel for a long time would say, ‘Bring back viewdata’.”

Though the agency has avoided major complications posed by the ongoing Middle East conflict, Kay noted the series of challenges the business has overcome over the years.

“It’s a great achievement [for the business to be turning 35], especially with what we’ve had to go through to get here – 9/11 and other terrorists attacks, ash clouds, earthquakes and wars – and it’s about being able to crisis-manage while still giving 100% customer service,” she said.

Describing the pandemic as the biggest hurdle, she said the agency’s shop in Darwen closed down at the start of 2020 as the first lockdown was imposed.

“One store is quite enough,” she said, adding that she and business partner Steve Lowe, who joined the agency in 1991, are both starting to consider their retirement plans.

They hope to recruit a manager for the shop in due course.

On Saturday, the agency secured four bookings – two Turkey trips, one to Cape Verde and a Marella cruise.