Hays Travel is set to launch on TikTok Shop next year, giving customers the option to book holidays directly through the platform as the group steps up efforts to attract younger travellers.
Chief Operating Officer Jonathon Woodall-Johnston said Hays was preparing for the launch in March, when it aims to become the first UK travel company selling holidays on the platform.
“Nobody’s doing that currently in travel [in the UK] at the moment,” he said.
Asked whether agents might be concerned about TikTok Shop creating another direct booking channel, he said he doesn’t believe it would take business away from retail.
“Today, you could book holidays on our website, but we’ve got very few customers who do that; 77% of customers that go onto our website end up booking in retail,” he added.
He said TikTok Shop would give Hays another way to generate business for its stores. “I think what TikTok is going to allow us to do is to showcase holidays in a video format,” said Jonathon.
“I think that the incremental business that will be generated for our retail teams through the TikTok Shop will be good.”
He added that the development would be ongoing: “Whatever we develop now will likely go out of date, so it will be a process.”
Hays launched its first-ever TikTok Live broadcast yesterday (12 November), featuring destination and bucket-list content alongside offers to engage new audiences.
Jonathon said the group wanted to reach existing followers and new customers through social media, while also driving bookings through its retail stores, website and homeworkers.
The group will open a TikTok studio in its Sunderland head office in December, where it will film all its content, including offers and inspiration, presented by one of Hays’ new graduate recruits.
Jonath0n said: “Nobody [in travel] has got a studio on TikTok. So that’s what we’re doing in the short-term until TikTok Shop goes live.”
Young customers are ‘fundamental for the future’ of Hays Travel, said owner and Director Dame Irene Hays. She said the group was ‘surprised but delighted’ by demand from the demographic.
The opportunity to sell to 18 to 24-year-olds may have been underestimated by the travel trade, she said, citing ABTA’s 2026/27 Holiday Habits report, which revealed that 35% of 18 to 24-year-olds book through a travel professional.
Irene said the way customers were inspired to book holidays represented one of the ‘most significant shifts in the travel industry’, making it important for agents to adapt how they reach potential customers.
“It’s really important that you speak to people and are influencing them where they want to listen to and in the manner that they’d like to be spoken to,” she said.
Speaking to Travel Gossip at the group’s annual conference in Antalya, she added: “If you look at interest in destinations of that demographic, they are much more adventurous and want much more experiential travel than some of the other older demographics.”
She said these trips often involved more complicated and expensive itineraries, creating an opportunity for agents to demonstrate their value.
“If they’ve got a couple of transfers, they’ve got to do a couple of internal flights, they need a tour guide. That is when the true benefit of the travel agent comes in, and that is where we are seeing that demographic, starting to use us more.”
Hays Travel Commercial Director Tricia Birmingham said the appetite for exploring new destinations was growing, particularly among younger customers.
“One trend stands out above all others. And that is that customers are looking to travel further than ever before,” she said.
She said 48% of customers planned to visit a country they had never been to before, rising to 71% among 25 to 34-year-olds.
“That’s phenomenal. That tells us our customers aren’t just looking for a holiday. They’re looking for discovery, an adventure, and experiences,” she said. Hays Travel’s top five emerging long-haul destinations are Tanzania, Japan, China, Qatar and Peru.
Hays Travel has partnered with the National Association of Student Money Advisors (NASMA) to attend freshers’ fairs at universities across the country. The events will be staffed by a mix of branch managers and retail staff, alongside members of Hays’ marketing team.
The group has also partnered with easyJet, Virgin Atlantic Holidays and Intrepid, following research into where students were interested in travelling. The partnerships will see students offered prizes at freshers’ fairs in return for signing up to the Hays Travel database, and tailored deals from each operator featured on a dedicated student page on the group’s website.
“They’re definitely looking for inspiration, guidance, and support, because they’re booking longer haul,” Irene said.
She confirmed attracting younger customers would be a focus for 2027, adding that the group wanted to become ‘well known and trusted in universities’.
Irene said the group wanted to retain younger customers throughout their lives, as their holiday needs changed. “We want our customers to stay with us through the whole of their lifecycle,” she said.
Hays Travel is also drawing on its younger workforce to shape its approach. It currently has 18 graduates in the business, with some helping to develop the NASMA strategy and marketing aimed at younger customers.
Jonathon said graduates were close to the behaviours of the demographic the group wanted to reach and could challenge ideas that would not work.
