Increased turnover and jobs on horizon

Jan 30 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal

A TRAVEL company has opened a dedicated cruise agency which it believes will help increase its turnover by more than £60m and lead to the creation of 150 jobs.

Hays Travel has set up its first Hays Travel Cruise high-street operation adjacent to its site in Sunderland after noticing a sharp increase in the number of customers requesting a cruise holiday.

The Sunderland-based company also plans to open Hays Cruise sites in Newcastle and Stockton by the end of the year with the aim of increasing its turnover from £307m to £368m.

The new site has already created eight jobs since opening last Friday and is expected to achieve £1m in sales in its first year of trading.

Chief executive John Hays said: “We have always held a strong position in the cruise market. However, with a new high-street presence for our cruise operation we can now strengthen this position even more.

“Don’t get me wrong, the bulk of our business will be very much based on flights to mainland Europe, but we see cruises and long-haul flights as our main area of growth in 2008.”

The company is also looking at new sites in the North-East in which to set up more of its regular agencies, with its current 126 employing the bulk of its 850 staff.

In addition, the firm plans to add another 100 home workers to the 400 already under contract throughout the UK by the end of the year.

It also planning to strengthen its head office operations by creating a number of new roles including a commercial director and a purchasing director, both of which it is currently recruiting for.

The firm’s impressive growth plans have also been helped by an extensive TV advertising campaign over the new year period, for which it paid a six-figure sum.

Despite the threat of tighter trading conditions as a consequence of higher consumer fuel bills and lending charges, Hays expects a positive year that will see holidaymakers book their holidays earlier as a result of last year’s summer washout in the UK.

The company’s January trading figures certainly support such optimism, with sales increasing by 28% compared to the same period last year.

Mr Hays said: “There are a lot of people saying that the travel industry will suffer along with most of the industries this year. However, we have yet to see this happen to us and, if anything, are seeing customers visit us earlier to make sure they are not left to suffer an even wetter summer.”

Hays’s plans for 2008 follow a big year for the cruising industry in the North-East, which saw the visit of the famous QE2 to the Tyne Dock in September – with a return visit planned for October 8. The Port of Tyne, which operates the dock, was also named European Port of the Year.

Such a positive outlook for the cruise sector is backed up by the industry’s trade organisation, the Association of British Travel Agencies (ABTA).

A spokesman for ABTA said: “The travel industry is very positive about 2008 and I’m not surprised that Mr Hays wants to increase his cruise operations as cruises have proved one of the travel industry’s success stories over recent years.

“They are no longer seen as only suitable for the over-50s and are becoming more fashionable among average holiday-makers.”

Sea cruise stats

• The volume of UK trade in the cruise market has increased by 8%-10% year on year for the past five years.

• The UK cruise market is the second biggest in the world after the US.

• Two companies pick up cruise passengers from the North-East – Thomson, which sails the Celebration liner, and Fred Olsen, which sails the Boudicca. Both ships operate via Tyne Dock.

• Twenty-nine ships plan to depart from Tyne Dock this year.

• The dock has invested more than £100m over the past decade.