Unlike most young children who fantasise about becoming a popstar or actor, Virgin Voyages’ UK Market Director SJ Walker had her heart set on a career in travel from an early age.
Here, SJ reveals why she’s following in her dad’s footsteps on two wheels, how a cup of tea taught her a lesson that has lasted a career and her plans to grow Virgin Voyages’ trade business.
I was always on the back of a motorbike as a kid. My dad is a Harley-Davidson rider and now I’m following in his footsteps, as I’m in the midst of getting my own motorbike licence. I’ve passed the early part of the test and I’m onto the second stage. We have a campervan, so the plan is to put the bike on the back of the van and go zipping around.
I only ever wanted to work in travel. I started as a modern apprentice at Thomas Cook straight from school aged 16 and it gave me an incredible foundation. I’ve always been addicted to holidays and what they represent: fun, adventure and connection.
Eight months into my apprenticeship, Thomas Cook took me on as a full-time agent. In a short space of time, I built up my own database of contacts. That was the secret to my success: I saw my clients as friends or family members and took a personal approach.
When I come close to retirement, I’d like to return as an agent. Making someone’s dream come true through a holiday experience gives me joy, so I’m sure I’ll end up doing a full circle and return to selling holidays on the front line again. But not just yet, as there’s still so much to achieve. For now, my job is to empower the people around me to deliver that service, which is equally exciting.
One of my biggest achievements was at Thomas Cook. I won the Modern Apprentice of the Year award when I was 17. It’s always special to win an award, but for that to be the very first award of my career was a real ‘pinch me’ moment.
The work ethic I developed in my early career still applies now. When I started out, I was offering clients cups of tea and restocking brochures and I gave it my all. I made sure it was the best cup of tea they’d had all day! Whatever your role and whatever your duties, you owe it to yourself to do the best you can. I’ve applied that throughout my career and it has definitely served me well.
I felt like I was famous on my first fam trip. I was 17 and it was a Kuoni trip to Barbados, St Lucia and Tobago. Seeing fabulous hotels with a wonderful group of people was intoxicating at that age, when you’re still so young, fresh and buzzing with nervous excitement. The way I was treated and the experience I had made me feel like royalty. I had paid a nominal fee for the trip, as you did at the time, but as I later booked a Kuoni trip to Antigua for a client, they called me up and refunded it.
Once you get into cruising, there’s no escape. After Thomas Cook, I joined Cruise.co.uk as a Cruise Specialist. At that time, it had just transitioned from a high street agency to a cruise call centre. It was rewarding to be part of the business as it levelled up, and it’s great to see its continued success today. I haven’t left cruising in the 20 years since – it just sucks you right in.
I left Cruise.co.uk earlier than anticipated because I wanted to work aboard. An advert saying ‘sail the seven seas’ caught my eye and, in a matter of days, I was offered the job as Onboard Cruise Sales Manager at Island Cruises. I spent five years at sea but it does have a limit and I was eager to return home to my family. I was lucky the final ship I worked on was Azura, for her maiden season with P&O Cruises. I joined her three weeks before she left the shipyard, then sailed with her to Southampton, and enjoyed all of her inaugural celebrations and the whole maiden season onboard.
Having worked in so many different roles, I know what it is like on the ground. I moved into more corporate settings with Princess Cruises and Virgin Voyages. But the perspectives I have from my past experiences, from being a retail agent to a call centre cruise specialist through to being at sea, is really useful. As a senior leader, you can find yourself blocked into the four walls of a corporate environment and you miss the reality of how those ideas translate in practice. However, I’ve walked in those shoes so I understand some of the challenges first-hand and some of the reasoning behind decisions.
There’s going to be no significant change now I’m UK Market Director. The UK is the second largest market for Virgin Voyages and I’m going to build on our success. We’ve got some incredibly strong partnerships already, so we’re going to strengthen those and keep up the momentum we’ve already built. Ensuring our relationships are profitable and sustainable for both parties is key. We don’t want to see quick wins that aren’t for the greater good.
Agents are central to Virgin Voyages’ continued success. They make up the majority of our overall sales, at 65%, so Virgin Voyages would not be where it is today without their support. We want to grow that share even more; on top of an overall double-digit increase. It’s certainly not a small target, so it will be all hands on deck to make that happen. Fortunately, we’ve got the right-sized team to not only service our existing partners, but to also support agents new to Virgin Voyages. New agent partners are something we’re actively seeking.
We’re still locking down our exact trade strategy, but there’s plenty in store. We’re going to continue to offer experiential booking incentives, with agents entering draws to win prizes like cruises in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. We’ll also be looking to host some overseas ship visits, so hopefully we can take some of our agent partners out to the sunshine and experience our lovely Lady Ships in the Mediterranean.
Forward bookings have been a growing trend at Virgin Voyages. The number of bookings for 2028 sailings has doubled. In August, we launched some brand new products, with the 11-night ‘Arctic Circle and Norwegian Fjords’ among our highlight sailings. It had incredible traction from the UK market, but also gave us a huge halo effect for our 2028 product overall. That is really encouraging because our Europe product for 2028 will be much bigger than in 2027. Otherwise, longer voyages around the Caribbean have resonated really well with UK customers, with 10-night sailings being more popular than four or five nights.
My career inspiration is Barrhead Travel Managing Director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell. She also started as a modern apprentice and her career has skyrocketed ever since. She works incredibly hard balancing business, while also staying so well connected to her family. She is really fun, never says no to challenge, is generous with her time and does all sorts for charity. In short, she is an absolute powerhouse.
I can’t resist the ‘book now’ button as I’m not fussed by material things. Most recently, I’ve booked a three-night tree house experience with my husband, two children and dog through Hoseasons next April. That’s wedged between more family holidays: a ski trip in January and a Japan cruise in August. Every spare penny I have goes on the holidays or an upgrade, whether that be accommodation, flights or another element of our trip. I know I’m incredibly lucky!
