TUI UK Managing Director Neil Swanson was singing the praises of independent travel agents at the ABTA Travel Convention this week, saying he ‘couldn’t be happier’ with their performance.
Independents now account for 10% of TUI’s bookings, while its own retail footprint is ‘steady’. It has added ‘a few shops’ of its own this year, said Neil, but sales via independents are growing faster.
“Clearly independent agents are doing well and as people understand our product more and trust us more we will grow,” he said.
Neil admitted that there was ‘a degree of cynicism’ when TUI announced its intention to work with independents again two years ago, but he said he now receives ‘a lot of positive comments’ from agents.
Having spoken to independents at the Convention this week, Neil said he realised there was a demand for more face-to-face events to educate them on TUI’s product. “We will be looking at doing more of that, at airports for example, because we want to make sure everyone has the information they need,” he said.
TUI is also increasing the number of agents on fam trips by 10%, taking 20 agents on 10 trips a year, and it’s also looking at expanding its trade sales team of 17. “If people think that would be valuable, why wouldn’t we?” he said.
“Independents are giving us access to new customers because there is no doubt that people who book with an independent agent are always going to book with an independent agent, so we are picking up booking through them from customers who would previously have booked with easyJet, Jet2 or another brand.”
Neil also revealed that more than half of TUI’s customers are now booking on mobiles since the launch of its app, but he said they’re clients who would previously have booked on desktop, rather than via an agent.
TUI’s decision to increase its ATOL by ‘a modest’ 2% to just shy of six million passengers for 2026, after keeping it flat last year, was partly due to its growth through independents, he added.
“We think there is an opportunity [for growth], we have sold the volume we wanted to sell this year and we see an opportunity to sell a little bit more, with the work we have been doing with independent agents.”
TUI will launch its summer 2027 programme on 15 October. “Some people still want to book early,” added Neil. “People are talking about it being a late booking market, but this year hasn’t been later than last year and there are people who will always want to book as soon as a new season goes on sale.”
