Westoe Travel’s TV appearance leads to rise in booking queries

South Shields agency Westoe Travel said it has already had promises of new bookings after it briefly appeared in an Amazon Prime documentary following Newcastle United during the 2022-2023 season.

The documentary, called We Are Newcastle United, went live last week.

The travel agency was sworn to secrecy after agreeing to a day’s filming at its shop around 10 days before the club was due to play in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley Stadium against Manchester United.

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The agency was selling hotel and rail packages to London to football fans attending the final, through its Rail Adventures tour operator.

Agency director Graeme Brett said: “We got messages from customers the next day saying they had seen the film. We also received two emails from Newcastle United supporters living in the south of England, saying they had seen it and wanted to book their next trip with us.”

Brett said he was proud of the way his staff acted. “At first everyone was shy if the cameras but after half an hour we just carried on as normal. It was a very enjoyable experience and hopefully we get a few more customers who see the documentary,” he said.

“We were all given hidden microphones to wear to pick the sound up clearly. What was fantastic was that all the staff who were filmed did so very professionally and in one take. None of the interviews had to be re-recorded.”

Brett said the film had given the agency “a load of free publicity” and offered an experience which “we all enjoyed being part of”.