InteleTravel UK boss hits back after 'hobbyist' agent criticism

InteleTravel UK managing director Tricia Handley-Hughes has hit back after speakers at Abta’s Travel Convention in Majorca voiced concerns about an influx of new-to-travel agents to the industry.

The concerns were raised by World Travel Holdings UK managing director Lisa McAuley, who said the industry could not maintain quality levels if there were too many newcomers, singling out “hobbyists” who are “just in it for their own needs and purposes”.

While InteleTravel was not mentioned by name during the panel discussion and Not Just Travel co-founder Steve Witt defended the model of recruiting from outside the sector, Handley-Hughes issued a statement in response.

In it, she said the comments were “insulting” to those who had worked hard to build careers in the industry and said new agents could attract fresh customer bases.

"The homeworking travel agency business model is the fastest growing agent sector,” she said.

“InteleTravel is proud that it was a pioneer in attracting new entrants into the travel industry and this has now been widely copied by other host agencies.

“These homeworkers attract new audiences, creating new sales pipelines for advisors and suppliers alike.”

She added: "Training is critical to success and every agency will have their own onboarding methods. At InteleTravel, our training is extensive with mandatory programmes that require a high pass rate, following by a plethora of live and virtual training.

“We launched our ’Path to Pinnacle’ programme recently to further raise standards and recognised achievers at our conference in Porto.”

Handley-Hughes insisted: "Agents are not born, they are nurtured and cultivated. It’s misleading to suggest people are only in it for themselves and insulting to those who have worked hard to become successful travel advisors, despite having had no previous experience.

“Nearly all of our top-performing advisors come from a variety of backgrounds and now look to transform their travel businesses from part-time to their main full-time role."