Thorne Travel recruits as it launches bespoke tours with online push

The two-branch agency has begun a recruitment drive after sealing partnerships with Wendy Wu, Newmarket Holidays and MSC. The Kilwinning agency also took on a new store in nearby Largs in February.

Owner Shona Thorne said she would be taking more of a behind-the-scenes role to concentrate on social media channels. 

As a result, Christiane McCorgray becomes manager of the Kilwinning branch and Amanda Mckinlay is promoted to assistant manager at Largs. John Ferguson has been promoted to cruise manager. 

“John will be setting up a new cruise department, and I will be heading up social media and online and taking a backseat on the shop side,” Thorne said, but added: “The buck stops with me, no matter what.”

Thorne said she saw the groups market “as our niche”, with current offerings including tours to India and Japan. “We’re hosting it with the operator, we’re building a tour that’s not the same as the brochure, taking the parts we like and packaging it with other bits.

“People are still a bit reluctant with tours, but we made it known we were hosting the India tour and it’s gone down really well. We spent the last couple of months asking clients what they wanted from a tour and went to 12 suppliers to say this is what we want. It’s really exciting times.”

She said would oversee her social media team to see how they could market the agency “in a different way” and would appoint a senior digital marketing consultant plus two apprentices.

“We will be boosting the marketing team. We’re currently 18 staff in two stores, I think we’ll have another seven new members before October.”

Thorne said the agency was now exceeding 2019 figures and added: “Largs goes from strength to strength.”

Despite the move to social media, she did not rule out more retail expansion. “I’m not saying two shops is the limit, I will be looking at other premises,” she said.