Over the past year, one thing has become very clear to us.
Travel agents are playing a bigger role in our business than ever before.
Across Sovereign, Citalia and American Holidays, we’ve seen strong growth in bookings from the trade, particularly from independent travel advisors and home-based agents. In some areas, the increase has been remarkable. Homeworker bookings alone have more than doubled compared to the same period last year.
It’s encouraging, but not entirely surprising.
The travel market has changed. Customers have more information at their fingertips than ever before, yet many are still looking for trusted advice when planning an important holiday. That seems especially true when it comes to premium and luxury travel.
For us, that means continuing to invest in the relationships that matter.
Growing Our Trade Team
During the past year, we’ve expanded our dedicated trade partnerships team so we can support more agents across the UK.
The team now includes specialists with experience across both the operator and retail sides of the industry, giving us a better understanding of the challenges agents face every day.
Having a larger team means we can spend more time listening.
Not just talking about offers or promotions, but understanding what agents need from us, where we can improve and what tools genuinely help them sell more effectively.
Sometimes the simplest conversations reveal the biggest opportunities.
Making It Easier To Do Business With Us
One area we’ve focused heavily on is accessibility.
Our sales teams are now available later into the evening and throughout the week, giving agents greater flexibility when they need support.
We’re also developing a new trade booking platform that will allow agents to book selected holidays online whenever it suits them.
Many straightforward bookings don’t require detailed consultation. Agents have told us they want the flexibility to secure these bookings quickly and efficiently, even outside normal working hours.
We’re listening.
The platform will support bookings across Sovereign, Citalia and American Holidays, making it easier for agents to access our products whenever their customers are ready to book.
Providing More Useful Resources
We’ve also spent time reviewing how we communicate with the trade.
That includes our social channels, our marketing support and the resources available through our agent hub.
Every month, thousands of pieces of content are downloaded by agents looking for inspiration, destination information and ready-made marketing materials they can share with their own audiences.
We’ll continue building on that.
The reality is that agents don’t always need more content. They need better content. Content that saves them time and helps them start conversations with customers.
Strong Growth Across Our Brands
The results of these investments are encouraging.
Trade sales have grown significantly across all three of our brands.
At Sovereign, travel agents now represent a much larger share of our overall business than they did just a year ago, while average booking values have also increased.
Citalia continues to enjoy strong support from agents across the UK, while American Holidays has also seen substantial growth through the trade.
Perhaps most pleasing of all, we’ve welcomed many agencies back to our brands for the first time since the pandemic.
Seeing those relationships return has been particularly rewarding.
Bringing Back The Sovereign Brochure
One request came up repeatedly during conversations with agents.
They wanted a brochure.
At a time when most businesses are moving everything online, some people might have expected the opposite. Yet agents consistently told us that a printed brochure remains a valuable sales tool, particularly for premium holidays.
So we listened.
This year we’ve reintroduced a dedicated Sovereign trade brochure with an initial print run of 10,000 copies.
It’s been several years since Sovereign last produced one, but we felt the demand was there.
Sometimes old-school marketing still has a place.
Supporting Home-Based Travel Advisors
Another area of focus has been the homeworking sector.
Independent travel advisors continue to be one of the fastest-growing parts of the travel industry and they now account for a significant proportion of our trade bookings.
We’ve increased our face-to-face activity through regular Homeworker Huddles held across the country.
These aren’t formal presentations packed with slides.
They’re designed to be conversations.
A chance to exchange ideas, answer questions and build relationships in a relaxed setting.
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
Selling Luxury Travel With Confidence
One topic we discuss regularly with agents is luxury travel.
Many advisors assume luxury holidays are only relevant to a small number of customers. In our experience, that’s often not the case.
Luxury customers exist in every community.
The challenge isn’t finding them. It’s identifying them and understanding what matters to them.
Price is rarely the main driver.
Service matters.
Knowledge matters.
Trust matters.
The agents who perform best in the luxury sector tend to focus on understanding their customers rather than simply presenting the cheapest option.
That might mean building relationships through local networking, engaging with professional communities, asking existing customers for referrals or creating useful content that demonstrates expertise.
Often it’s the small things that make the biggest difference.
A personal recommendation.
A thank you message.
A phone call after travel.
Those moments stay with people.
Looking Ahead
We believe the relationship between tour operators and travel agents remains incredibly important.
Customers benefit from expert advice.
Agents benefit from strong operator support.
And together we can create better holiday experiences.
As we move forward, we’ll continue investing in our trade partnerships, developing new tools and finding new ways to support agents across the UK.
The growth we’ve seen so far is encouraging.
But it still feels like we’re only getting started.