Tickets Travel, Bexley

Tickets Travel, Bexley
London’s Top Agency 2020

From sourcing an eight-course vegan-tasting menu for a client on an anniversary trip to Vienna, to helping a local elderly lady with the emigration process to be with family in New Zealand, this small agency always goes the extra mile. Owner Diane Coleman and her team are a real part of the local community, and Diane always checks on elderly former customers in the village, even though they no longer book holidays, to make sure they’re OK.

While they know long-standing loyal customers are the lifeblood of any company, Diane’s daughter Lauren is also now on a mission to shake up the agency’s social media and gain them some youth appeal. She is also building up the agency’s database, with clients now sent an inspirational email newsletter every quarter.

Lauren works over in sister agency, Clarkes Travel, while Diane has David and Kirsty in her shop in Bexley; they have been with her for 12 and 19 years respectively. Diane has owned the shop – which she had renovated two years ago – for 25 years and the shared passion and experience between this team is obvious as soon as you chat to them.

A new website was launched last year, but for those who prefer to come into the shop rather than browse online, there’s a comfy new waiting area. And last September also saw Tickets put on its first Luxury and Expedition event in response to customer demand, with several high-value trips later booked. They also tied up with Channel 4’s Place in the Sun presenter Laura Hamilton to meet customers at its January travel show, which was the agency’s best yet. The team is constantly thinking of engaging ways to hold other client events too, from a South American event with salsa dancing lessons, empanadas and regional wines, to afternoon teas with Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

But along with the team’s passion for travel and clear business progression, it’s the part this agency plays in the community – from delivering Christmas hampers to low-income families, to raising money for the local Cherished Memories charity – that helps make it this year’s regional champion.

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