Wendy Wu Tours is aiming to nearly triple the proportion of business it generates in Ireland after a successful start to trade sales following the introduction of fully inclusive trips.
The tour operator appointed former Barrhead Travel store manager Kelly Hutchinson (pictured) as a business development manager covering Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland at the end of last year.
Head of trade sales Gary King said the results in Northern Ireland had been “instant”, pointing to Hutchinson’s considerable experience and her understanding of agents’ training needs.
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Outlining the scope for further progress across both Northern Ireland and the Republic, he added: “We see the biggest growth coming out of the Irish market. Currently, 3.5% of our UK and Ireland business is coming from Ireland, but it’s our ambition within two years to get at least 10% of business coming from the Republic of Ireland.”
Based on projections for overall sales growth, King said the expectations for the Republic were that, by early 2027, sales could rise by “four or five times” the level they currently stand at.
As well as recruiting Hutchinson and appointing Alexia Christou as product and development executive for the island of Ireland, the operator has introduced its first dedicated Irish brochure, which features prices in euros.
Previously, Wendy Wu Tours had sold to Irish customers through Sunway Holidays as a general sales agent but it now offers flight-inclusive packages.
Reflecting on January’s performance, King said: “In the first couple of weeks, we had back to back events and every single one was a success, with bookings on the night and the next day. We had a really strong start from Northern Ireland – the best we’ve seen.”
He added: “The Republic of Ireland is a bit slower, but Kelly absolutely smashed the target by more than 50%.
“We’re realistic about it. We’re not expecting everything to happen overnight, but travel agents are loving the brochure and they love that there’s someone looking after them all the time.”
Asked how many agencies the company had been working with, King said the aim was to work with “everybody”.
“It’s quite a tight-knit community [on the island of Ireland] and we’re speaking to all the consortia and all the homeworking companies,” he said, adding: “Every one of these agencies already has the ability to sell Wendy Wu Tours.”
Additional trade-facing staff would “without a doubt” be added to the Ireland team in the future, he revealed.
“We’re always reviewing what we’ve got and what we need,” he said. “We think we eventually need a country manager.”