Fred Olsen Travel hails all-time record start to year

Agency boss ‘extremely encouraged’ by strong sales

Fred Olsen Travel hails all-time record start to year

Fred Olsen Travel has reported every department in the company achieved record income levels in the first full week of the year.

The 17-branch agency, which is the general sales agent for Star Clippers, described the performance as “particularly exciting” as its turn-of-year marketing did not launch until January 14.

It comes days after Star Clippers revealed its “record-breaking” sales week in the UK that occurred over the same seven-day period.

Managing director Steve Williams said: “I am extremely encouraged by this start and incredibly proud of our team and all their hard work.

“It is obviously a strong market at the moment which is wonderful for the travel industry.

“Our record week is especially pleasing. Throughout the pandemic we took the decision to continue investing in the business, both in terms of the number of retail outlets; new products such as Rail and Discover within Fred Holidays and the team itself, with the recruitment of some key staff across our business.”

Williams admitted it was “gratifying” to see this investment “pay off” and highlighted how the agency had added six shops to its retail network.