PICTURE: ISTOCK
NEWS FEATURE
While Murphy, who is a
member of Advantage Travel
Centres, was unsure how many
passengers he deals with annually,
he has strong links with
the 20,000-strong community
in St Ives, and enjoys a client
base spread across much of
north Cornwall.
He even takes bookings from
customers in Scotland. “They
are probably people who have
moved away from the area or
have got friends who booked
through us and got a good
service,” he said.
Like many agents, he is keen
to increase his adventure and
niche businesses, but surprisingly
does not consider the
traditional summer holiday
market his biggest base.
Murphy said: “Our traditional
holiday sales start from
August. Local businesses’
peak earning period is during
the summer, so while we deal
with a lot of local enquiries
and rail travel, one of our
main markets is winter holidays,
with Australia, New
Zealand and South Africa all
being popular.”
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MOST NORTHERLY
PETER LEASK,
PARTNER, JOHN
LEASK AND SONS,
LERWICK,
SHETLAND ISLES
Running the
only highstreet
agency
on the Shetland
Isles, born-andbredShetlander
Peter Leask
is used to the remoteness
of his business and its
accompanying advantages
and disadvantages.
On the plus side, about
23,000 people live on an island
that is up to 14 hours away from
the mainland by ferry, and 50
minutes by air to Aberdeen.
This makes many of the
islanders inveterate travellers,
and while some are turning
to the internet to make their
arrangements, many still visit
Leask for a quote.
He said: “We’re in a diff erent
situation from most agencies,
as a high percentage
of what we do is domestic
air travel because we’re on
an island.
“About a third of our turnover
is made up of selling domestic
air travel, and while the bulk of
it is to Scottish airports, it can be
to anywhere.”
After a period of high
16 | Travel Weekly | July 3 2009
unemployment in the 1950s
and 1960s, many Shetlanders
moved away, fuelling travel to
and from the island for friends
and family visits.
Leask said: “For a population
of 23,000, there’s a lot
more travel than you would
have from 23,000 people on
the mainland.”
However, while guaranteeing
unique access to a
regular travelling clientele,
the Shetland Isles’ remoteness
also brings its own set
of problems.
Leask said: “The distance
we are from other agents is
a disadvantage. We can’t
pop out to lunches when an
operator presents its latest
off erings. For any other agent
it means a couple of hours
out of their day, but for us, it
would take two days out of
our week.”
The business dates back to
1919, when it off ered transport
for inbound visitors to
the Shetland Isles. It only
became a travel agency in
the mid-1930s, when fl ights
connecting the island with the
mainland became available.
Leask joined in 1972 and
is the third generation of the
family to run the business.
As a partner, he continues
to act as a ground handler
for inbound tourists, as well
as supplying coach and bus
transfers, which accounts for a
third of the business.
While fl ights between the
island and Scottish airports
“For a population
of 23,000, there’s
a lot more travel
than you would
have from 23,000
people on the
mainland”
may be costly, Shetlanders
are able to off set it with a
40% reduction, thanks to the
Scottish government’s air
discount scheme.
Leask believes this
will help local customers
continue to travel through the
recession, although he has
seen a dramatic impact on
inbound tourism.
“The problem this year –
on inbound travel – is Shetland
is not a cheap destination to
get to, and the report that Brits
will holiday at home this year
probably doesn’t apply to us.
People in the south can probably
go halfway across Europe
for the cost of coming here.”
The business employs
40 staff and is a member
of Global Travel Group’s
Independent Options.
MOST EASTERLY
ALAN HUBBARD,
OWNER,
CAN-AM TRAVEL,
LOWESTOFT,
SUFFOLK
For many travel
agents, the
internet has
proved to be a
curse, as consumers
go
direct to suppliers
and operators.
However, for Can-Am Travel
owner Alan Hubbard, the
march online has proved to
be a bit of a boon, as it has left
Shetland Isles agent Peter Leask
said domestic air travel accounted
for a third of his business
many of his customers behind.
“Our customers are still
getting used to the web. We’re
probably 10 years behind
everyone else, and a lot of our
clients haven’t even got the
internet,” he said.
“They come to us for that
personal service, and they’re
shocked when we tell them we
can check-in online for them.”
Hubbard, who runs the most
easterly travel agency in the
UK, on the Suff olk coast, fi nds
there is a limited number of
people to sell to. “The problem
we have is that on one side of
us, to the east, all we have is
the North Sea.”
Hubbard’s problems are
compounded by the fact
that Lowestoft is ringed by
the bigger towns of Great
Yarmouth, Norwich and
Ipswich, which can tempt away
all but the closest consumers.
He said: “People who live
more than 15 miles away tend
to go to another agency.”
Despite these challenges,
Hubbard has continued
to overcome them, and is
running the same shop, which
opened in 1964.
At its peak in 1984, the business
comprised fi ve shops in
the region, employing 23 staff .
In 1992, Hubbard closed two
branches, and a further two
were closed in 1995, leaving
only the original shop.
He said: “It was during a
period when the rents went
up and all the big agencies
were opening in the area,
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