Your Stories: David Carruthers on why Conexo Travel will be focusing on cruise in 2023

The founder of Conexo Travel in York, David Carruthers, tells Samantha Mayling why he wants ‘a bit of the cruise action’ 

Q. How did you get into travel?
A. I was a financial controller in hospitality companies and in the early 2000s, I wanted to get away from that, as the internet was developing and people were booking hotels differently. I set up an online booking engine for B&Bs and small hotels to manage their inventory themselves so people could book online. It developed into a travel agency, selling niche areas such as Nile cruise holidays, when there were more flights to Luxor.

Q. Tell us about your agency, Conexo.
A. Conexo is taken from the Latin for weaving, as in the web. We set up the shop in Haxby, on the edge of York, on November 1, 2008, and moved 50 yards to new premises in July 2022. It was a good move – lots of customers love it, old and new. It used to be an art gallery so the space is very open, with big windows. Even the tour operator reps are wowed and they see a lot of agencies. There are six of us here now, including me. We are Hays Independence Group members and they are very supportive and friendly. Three of them visited during our opening day events and I went to the Hays Travel conference in Tenerife in March 2022.

[Our shop] used to be an art gallery so the space is very open, with big windows. Even the tour operator reps are wowed and they see a lot of agencies

Q. How did you cope in the pandemic?
A. I had to furlough staff so it was just me dealing with cancellations and refunds. It was soul-destroying, coming to work and giving money back. I got a £2,600 restart grant from central government while the barber over the road got £8,000 and had queues of people outside for weeks when shops reopened. Travel agents could reopen, but we were not able to sell anything. Julian Sturdy, Conservative MP for York Outer, visited during the pandemic and was supportive. I met him on the travel industry day of action at the Houses of Parliament.

Q. What sort of clients do you attract?
A. We have lots of mature customers, but are seeing growth in cruise and bookings from families, so we are trying to attract more there. This area is comfortably affluent and less affected by the cost-of-living crisis – but some people may be a bit reluctant to come out of their shells after Covid. We had a very good autumn and winter – selling a lot to the Canaries and Madeira for winter sun. We support local schools and there is a scarecrow festival each Whitsun bank holiday – now that we have big windows, we will take part in that event, as it attracts a lot of people who walk around Haxby. Some customers have been with us from the start – such as the first booking I made when we opened the shop. The guy who made that booking dresses up as Father Christmas to go around the village, and he pops in to see us. You get to know people and they become friends. During the pandemic people would stop me and say they were concerned about us.

This area is comfortably affluent and less affected by the cost-of-living crisis – but some people may be a bit reluctant to come out of their shells after Covid

Q. You appeared on radio regularly during the pandemic. How did that help the agency?
A. I had been on local radio before the pandemic so BBC Radio York contacted me, as I had a client affected by a hotel lockdown when an Italian doctor was taken ill with Covid in Tenerife. As well as regular Radio York interviews, I was on Greatest Hits Radio, then BBC TV interviewed me for Look North and I ended up on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2. We’ve had new customers thanks to the publicity. It is good to educate people about the value of booking with a travel agent.

Q. Do you market on social media?
A. I am trying to increase it – we have 8,000 followers on Facebook. I target certain holiday types such as Lapland bookings, trying to get across the message about timings. It is too late to book a Lapland a month before because it’s sold out, but if you book for December 2023, you can spread repayments. I can talk about so many places – and we get reps from tour operators visiting every week. Clients look for holidays once or twice a year but we do it every day. You get to know clients’ personalities and what they like. I sent one customer to Kefalonia and they said the hotel was exactly what they wanted – it had character.

I was on Greatest Hits Radio, then BBC TV interviewed me for Look North and I ended up on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2

Why are you targeting cruise?

Cruise will be a big focus for us in 2023. We’ve always sold Silversea Cruises and are now doing more with Royal Caribbean International and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines. Fred Olsen sails out of Newcastle, which is our nearest port.

The cruise sector is less affected by discounting – about 70% of cruises are booked by agents. We need to get a bit of the cruise action.

We are planning events for clients in the new shop – the first one is Silversea, then Ambassador Cruise Line.

Now we have more space in the shop we can host our ‘Meet the Expert’ events. It is a good way to get people engaged in our business

We used to hold an event each year at the town hall and would have 200-250 people attending. Now we have more space in the shop we can host our ‘Meet the Expert’ events. It is a good way to get people engaged in our business.

We have refreshments, canapés and cakes from around the world. It’s a bit of fun and creates a buzz – and it’s giving something back.

I don’t like to badger customers, but I just say ‘come for a coffee’, which is like a ‘thank you’ for booking with us in the past. People are spending more on themselves as they have sat on their money over the pandemic.