Travel Counsellors is one of the UKÂ's largest independent travel companies with turnover at the end of its last financial year (Oct 31 2006) of £175 million ($A440k). Founded in 1994 it currently has over 780 travel consultants who work from home, with the support of over 150 staff at the companyÂ's head office in the UK.
Travel CounsellorsÂ' expansion into Australia follows on from its recent announcement to open in South Africa and is the sixth launch of the concept overseas in the past two and half years.
Travel Counsellors now has over 780 Travel Counsellors worldwide and also operates from Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, tha USA and the UK. Travel Counsellors are launching the Australian business after planning the expansion for over nine months.
The operationÂ's headquarters will be based in Melbourne, with full time professional home-based agents operating throughout the country using the companyÂ's technology which has been tailored to the Australian market.
Although there are a small number of home-based travel business models in Australia, Travel CounsellorsÂ' sole focus is empowering the travel professional to operate their own business from home.
Counsellors in Australia will be able to provide unique tailor-made travel and holidays for their customers and communicate with their fellow Travel Counsellors across the globe. They will be able to sell a full range of travel products from leisure and corporate suppliers, drawing on Travel Counsellors global supplier relationships and a customer driven, broad and diverse choice of suppliers in Australia.
Peter Watson and Tim Martin are the Directors of the Australian Company, both reporting to group Managing Director Steve Byrne. Peter will act as General Manager and Tim as Head of Sales. Peter and Tim both have extensive careers in the Travel Industry. Peter has worked with Jetset, ATAC, Jetset Travelworld and Concorde; whilst Tim established National World Travel in Victoria, South Australia, WA and Tasmania and then also worked with both Jetset Travelworld and Concorde. Both Peter and Tim have significant national retail experience.
Â"Both Tim and I were amazed when we first saw depth and sophistication of the technology, training and business development support that the company provides to its counsellors,Â" says Peter. Â"But more than that, what makes Travel Counsellors so unique is the quality of the people, their level of professionalism and experience and its unique family ethos that comes from the Chairman David Speakman and is shared by the whole team. We knew straight away it would be a big success in Australia and we wanted to be part of it. Their enthusiasm and passion is infectious and we canÂ't wait to get started.Â"
Travel Counsellors hopes to recruit up to 70 home-based Travel Counsellors in Australia in its first year of business. As with its UK operation, only the most experienced agents will be recruited. Travel Counsellors will be given in-depth training on the companyÂ's intranet booking system, and contact centre which provides a comprehensive customer management solution.
Travel Counsellors will use the dynamic packaging system, Phenix, which allows them to quickly and easily search and compare different travel options for specific dates.
Commenting on the launch in Australia Managing Director Steve Byrne says; Â"We are the market leader globally and in building a truly international business and brand, we felt it important that we position ourselves in Australia. After researching the market for the past 12 months, we know the market conditions are right for us, but to launch successfully we needed to find the right people and we are therefore pleased to have Peter and Tim to lead the company.
They provide a huge amount of experience and knowledge that will be invaluable in bringing the Travel Counsellors concept and track record to Australia and attracting the best agents to join us - as part of our vision to create a truly international community of the very best agents worldwide.Â"
A report by The mole
