The boss of Newmarket Holidays has reported “an incredible performance” from travel agents so far this year, thanks in part to the operator retaining its trade support team.
Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, chief executive Niel Alobaidi said that sales through trade partners since January 1 are higher than the comparable period in 2019.
He said the operator has built relationships with the trade over time and kept its four-strong team of account managers, plus the head of trade sales, and a commercial services team of three throughout the pandemic.
“We’d seen a real uplift in trade pre-pandemic, and we were confident that this would be an area that we could focus on, on the other side, so we never took any cost out of those areas,” he said.
“And I think it’s paid back really strongly.
“We’re seeing some very big bookings coming through.”
He said “good sales” were coming from different markets – long-haul remains strong but more bookings are also coming from agents for UK and Europe tours.
The operator is welcoming new agents too, as well as those with whom it has not worked for a while.
“So much is about relationship-building – trust and confidence in us as a brand – and having those people on the road who are able to now go back into the shops and build those relationships,” he said, adding that homeworking agencies are another sector that is building sales with the operator.
He said the first two weeks of January had been “quite slow” as the Omicron outbreak had forced the operator to delay its peaks campaign from post-Christmas to mid-January.
However, the rest of January caught up for those two missed weeks; February sales were ahead of target; and March is picking up again after a rather slow start.
So far, there has been no significant impact as a result of the war in Ukraine, apart from the cancellation of tours in Russia.
However, the company is monitoring costs and urging agents and customers to book holidays now as prices may increase.
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Newmarket is starting to recruit again as the market recovers, as “a few people” lost their jobs in the early days of the pandemic.
But thanks to furlough and reduced hours, staff levels did not have to fall further, he added.
“Most of the people here have been through this journey with us and they’ve given a lot, an awful lot – and we’re only successful because of what they’ve done,” he said.
“We are starting to build back cautiously because we don’t know what’s going to happen over the next nine months.”
He added: “I was fortunate to go on a Lapland trip just before Christmas and being there and experiencing it, you realise how important what we do is and you see the enjoyment that everyone gets.
“Our customers are very, very understanding that the pandemic has meant that things are building back everywhere.
“There is this kind of a symbiotic relationship with our customers and a really positive experience.”
Sustainability is another important element of the business, which is looking at ways to manage its carbon offsetting.
“There is an opportunity to talk up the good that travel does,” he added, pointing to issues such as mental health, education, and redistribution of wealth from wealthy nations to countries that are dependent on travel.
“We need to celebrate the good we do and make sure people know about it,” he added.