The Travel Franchise takes over 140 agents away on free “game-changing” immersive training retreats in Cyprus and Jamaica

The Travel Franchise hosted several free mentorship retreats in Cyprus and Jamaica during November and has plans to raise the number in 2024 after over 200 people invested in a franchise to become a home-based travel agent this year.

"This year alone we have organised over 800 training places for members on our overseas trips to fantastic destinations", says co-founder Paul Harrison.

Any franchisee that joins the company’s most popular Elite package gets all everything they need to operate a home-based travel agency after just five days’ virtual training, but they also invited on a free Millionaire’s Retreat, typically in a short-haul destination like Cyprus, followed by a more exotic trip long-haul for an Elite Experience.

“As there are typically several Millionaire Retreats per year, new members usually get the opportunity to attend within a few months of joining,” says Harrison.

Franchisee Martin Bristow, who joined in the summer of 2023 after opting to take early retirement, attended the Millionaire's retreat in Paphos said: “I loved it. It’s enabled me to come away with a lot more ‘oomph’ and some ideas of where to focus. It was great to meet other new franchisees that are on the same kind of journey as me, and to be able to speak to the other consultants who have been doing this three or four years and to learn from some of their experiences. There were lots of different ways that people were succeeding so that was really exciting.”

The Millionaire’s Retreat, which took place at the deluxe Pioneer Beach Hotel in Paphos and was hosted by Constantinou Bros, one of Not Just Travel’s 45 valued Key Trade Partners, is designed to help newer members kickstart their business and propel them to the next level.

Everyday 40 franchisees spent several hours in a classroom-style setting with training focusing on customer acquisition and retention, marketing and strategies to help boost business and think like entrepreneurs.

However, it wasn’t all work and no play. “We also had a great trip to the Troodos mountains and had a wonderful lunch in a taverna. No tourists, just all locals. And the food just kept coming and coming and coming. It was a wonderful experience,” says Bristow.

An International Mastery Retreat was also held simultaneously at neighbouring five-star Asimina Suites Hotel to help prepare around 70 consultants ahead of the upcoming Peaks season, the January to March period when agents typically take four times more bookings than any other time of the year.

While co-founder Steve Witt hosted the Cyprus retreats, co-founder Paul Harrison was back in the office after training 30 agents in Jamaica. The group was hosted by The Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort & Spa in conjunction with the company’s key trade partner Gold Medal and the Jamaica Tourist Board.

“The five-star all-inclusive resort is a magnificent venue with a huge variety of speciality restaurants and bars enabling us to experience a different restaurant for dinner every evening,” says franchisee Peter Woodman.

“We now have so much personal experience in which to draw upon to help educate and inspire future customers about the hotel and Jamaica as a tourist destination.”

Like 98 per cent of our consultants, Woodman had no previous experience working in travel before he joined The Travel Franchise and he has chosen to work only part time. After a 35-year career in advertising, he realised he no longer wanted to work in the industry. “One of the reasons I left big corporate life was to create my pressure and maintain a healthy work-life balance doing something I enjoy.”

And Peter is enjoying his new life as a personal travel consultant.

“Highlights of the Jamaica trip included a visit to Dunn’s River Falls in Ocho Rios, one of Jamaica’s national treasures – a magnificent cascading waterfall over 293 metres in length. Featuring in the James Bond film “Dr No” back in 1962 as well as Tom Cruise’s “Cocktail” in 1988, we had fun scaling the amazing natural phenomenon,” says Woodman.

“We also enjoyed a great day out chilling on the beach at the legendary Margaritaville in Negril, supping rum cocktails to a backdrop of pumping island music and a memorable open-air lunch. This was followed by a visit to the iconic and buzzing Rick’s Cafe to witness a fantastic sunset that will live long in the memory.”

Peter also benefitted from getting to know other consultants during sightseeing excursions, over meals and during training. The Travel Franchise’s Elite Experiences always includes at least a few established consultants who have booked millions of pounds worth of holidays so that they can give tips and support to less experienced franchisees.

“Being part of a lovely group of fellow travel consultants was a really good bonding experience. The opportunity allowed us to share our experiences, our individual and collective challenges and generally draw inspiration and support from each other,” says Woodman. “With a work hard, play hard agenda, there was a great mix of training, fun experiences and a little sprinkling of relaxation.”