Sir Lenny Henry has shared his admiration of the travel trade, describing agents as “geniuses” for how they navigated the Covid pandemic.
Speaking at Travel Counsellors’ annual conference in Liverpool, where he was one of the keynote speakers and gala dinner host, the revered comedian expressed his appreciation of how those involved in the industry “rebooted” it after the Covid pandemic.
“I have massive admiration for you guys after how you rebooted your industry, after what was the most challenging period in travel history; it’s truly extraordinary,” he said.
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“You’ve all had to overcome major adversity – you were trying to sell holidays to people who couldn’t go on holiday – you guys are geniuses. I don’t know how you did that.”
Henry went on to show his love of travel, saying how it “broadens the mind”.
“Your industry is so important as you each allow people to see things they wouldn’t normally see and learn about other cultures, which is so important,” he added.
He warned travel is “not completely out of the woods” as Covid had such a detrimental impact – a message that was repeated by others over the course of the conference – and urged travel agents to work as a team to overcome the challenges ahead.
“If you can keep looking out for each other and caring for each other, then it’s clear skies all the way,” he said.
“Make sure you have a team, talk to each other and seek advice. It’s all right to ask for help.”
Henry received a standing ovation following his speech and discussion with host Jim Eastwood, Travel Counsellors’ global sales director.