14 January 2018
From the success of our annual conference, to the announcement that we have hit the milestone of 70 Travel Counsellors now running their own businesses across the country, it has been an incredible year for Travel Counsellors. Looking back on 2017, here are our General Manager, Cathy Burke's top five highlights from the past 12 months:
1: Annual Conference
Our annual conference took place in the five-star Fota Island Resort in March. The action-packed two-days were attended by over 140 travel professionals, including representatives from Etihad, Celebrity Cruises, Travelport, and Aer Lingus. See our video HERE.
The conference included a keynote address by fashion stylist, broadcaster and entrepreneur Sonya Lennon, who spoke on the necessity of building and sharing a personal brand story. I was delighted to reveal at the conference's black-tie awards ceremony that Sarah McCarthy was awarded the top prize of Best Travel Counsellor for the eighth year in a row, having reached unprecedented sales of 12.5 million in the past decade.
We are now delighted to announce that our 2018 conference will take place on Thursday, April 19 and Friday, April 20. The action-packed event promises to be another exciting and engaging event.
2: 70th Travel Counsellor
In 2017, we announced we now have 70 professionals operating across the Republic of Ireland. The growth in people setting up their own business is a testament to the global ethos of Travel Counsellors.
Travel Counsellors numbers have increased by 17% in the past year, with Travel Counsellors sales now at 26.5 million at financial year end.
Cork-based Imelda McCarthy joined us as our 70th active Travel Counsellor. Imelda has over 24 year's industry experience, most recently working for a long-haul tour operator in Munster, and prior to that, in a retail travel agency and the airline business.
Check out the coverage on our 70th Travel Counsellor on ITTN, Travel Extra, and Travelbiz.ie.
3: In The Media
There were some great travel conversations happening this year, and I enjoyed getting the opportunity to talk about them. The Irish Independent ran a piece on the rise of Grey Gappers, the Irish Examiner investigated the growth in set jetting, while Image Magazine looked at why travelling alone can actually be fun.
In our summer surveys, we revealed one in three men could not be without their handheld device on holiday and Graham Norton topped the list of Irish celebrities people want to whisk away on holidays. The surveys were picked up by Today FM News, The Last Word With Matt Cooper, Joe.ie, Lovin.ie, 96FM, and Cork Airport.
4: Awards
What a year it has been for awards! Cork travel specialist Mary Foyle won the prestigious title of top performing Travel Counsellor in Ireland at our annual Travel Counsellors global conference in November.
Also, another Cork Travel Counsellor, Niamh Quinlan, was declared the winner of the 2017 ITTN+EMIRATES Travel Photographer of the Year Award at a gala dinner event. See her photo HERE.
Travel Counsellors collectively this year was also awarded the Customer Focus Award at the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards UK 2017; the North West's Best Large Company Management Team 2017; and TTG Top Homeworking Agency 2017.
5: And Lastly, The Experiences
Experience wise, there has been so much to choose from.
Each year we treat our top Travel Counsellors in Ireland to a special event where we acknowledge their hard work and success over the year. This year we headed to the K Club in Kildare to celebrate our Sales Support Executive, Ciara MacConnell's, and five of our Travel Counsellors 10th anniversaries in business.
We also had some great familiarisation trips. These trips were provided by tourist boards, hotels, airlines, cruise companies and other suppliers, giving our TCs the opportunities to experience their products first-hand. These includes trips to Peru, China, Morocco, South Africa, Sardinia, Madrid, Orlando, Boston, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Canada and Abu Dhabi. Most recently, six Travel Counsellors spent six nights in Sri Lanka where they discovered the history, culture and stunning natural beauty of this tear-shaped island. The trip was hosted in partnership with our suppliers Turkish Airlines and local DMC (Destination Management Company) Columbus Tours.
So, that's my Top 5 highlights of 2017. What will happen in 2018?!
