Travel Counsellors has topped £1 billion in annual sales for the first time amid strong demand for overseas trips and its growing tour operating business.
Sales to leisure customers during the 12 months to August 23 contributed £735 million to the personal holiday planner’s revenue, while it also reported £265 million in corporate sales, largely to small and medium-sized businesses.
A significant portion of sales – £364 million – was attributed to tailored TC packages, while TC Journeys, one of the latest features built into the company’s tech platform, now offers more than 215 itineraries across 66 countries, building on the company’s position as a tour operator.
Travel Counsellors recorded more than 155,000 leisure bookings in the 12 months to August, with an average value of £4,717. It also reported more than 164,000 corporate bookings with an average value of £1,577.
The holiday destinations in highest demand over the 12-month period included the Mediterranean, the US and southeast Asia.
Cruise holidays contributed nearly £50 million in sales during the 12 months to August 23, while a 70% increase in demand for trips to Japan was reported.
In July the company reported a 31% rise in total transaction value to more than £941 million for the year to October 2023 and a rise of 14% in the first half of the 2024 financial year.
Travel Counsellors hopes to capitalise on rising travel demand to double revenues in the next five years after reaching the milestone of £1 billion in sales, a figure projected more than a year ago.
“That plan is broadly predicated on us doing what we’re currently doing, which is attracting really great people to run their own travel business using the Travel Counsellors platform and growing our premium leisure and corporate market mainly organically,” chief executive Steve Byrne told The Times.
A post-pandemic boom in holidays has helped the company to expand significantly as people prioritise spending on tourism and personalised travel services.
The Travel Counsellors community has continued to grow, with 297 new business owners joining in the last year, bringing the total number to 2,121 at the end of August.
As many as 171 of those achieved their best-ever sales performance in the past 12 months.
Byrne said: “The essence of the business model is about the travel counsellor building a relationship with you. I think people crave and want to be able to buy services and consumer services from people that they can build a trusting relationship with.
“As far as the consumer is concerned, we look after both leisure customers, people who want to go on holiday, and also corporate customers, people who own and look after small to medium-sized businesses.”
He added: “Where we think we differentiate ourselves is in the personalised relationship between the travel counsellor and the customer, handcrafting something that’s right for you, keeping in touch with you and making sure we’re taking great care of you and they’re able to do that supported by our tech platform.
“Our success is driven by the strength of our technology platform, enhanced by the human touch of our travel counsellors. This winning combination supports them to scale their businesses in a way that suits them.
“Our investment in technology has also helped us build our position as a leading tour operator by enabling us to offer more tailored packages that meet our customers’ evolving needs. We look forward to the future with excitement as we continue to grow and succeed together.”