The owner of a Scottish travel agency held a fundraiser for Sri Lanka on National Travel Agent Day.
Ailish Laughlin, owner of The Wee Travel Company, invited agents to the Parklands Hotel in Perth to celebrate NATD, and encouraged them to help her raise money for the Indian Ocean country, which is suffering a severe economic crisis.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises against all but essential travel to Sri Lanka due to “political and economic instability”, and Tui has cancelled all holidays to Sri Lanka until August 15.
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Laughlin said she “fell in love” with the island while on a fam trip prior to the pandemic and felt she wanted to do something to try to support people living through the crisis.
She said: “There are so many places in turmoil, famine and war, but the Sri Lanka story hasn’t been particularly picked up by much of the mainstream media, and people there are really struggling. It’s unbelievable.”
Laughlin and staff form several travel businesses, including Miles Morgan Travel, Balkan Holidays and Holiday Angels, raised around £800 for palmera.org, a charity working to ensure poor people have a living income, supporting a range of causes including the Sri Lanka relief mission.
The agents also toasted to NATD and caught up after two years of disruption due to the pandemic.
“A small group of us met up and it was so great to see other travel colleagues again,” Laughlin said. “We were lucky enough to get a lovely warm day so we could sit outside in the beautiful gardens and drink a cocktail or two.”
She continued: “The world needs travel agents. These multi-tasking, problem-solving, all-knowing superstars share their love of travel and in-depth knowledge with thousands of people every year.
“It’s not always easy, especially during a global pandemic, which is why Intrepid Travel launched NATD as a way for the industry to show appreciation and recognise agents’ hard work.”