From the minute we opened our first small retail shop in Seaham, Co Durham, in 1980 I was hooked - I fell in love with the travel industry.

We've come a long way since our very small beginnings - we are now ABTA's largest independently owned travel agency and we're growing all the time. Our annual turnover broke is now over £230 million - we've broken our own record year on year as we've invested to maintain our position as a front runner within the industry.

We're fully ABTA bonded and our core businesses are:

• Retail shops
• Call Centres
• Homeworking (we employ people from across the UK to work from home. If you have at least two years ABTA experience and think you would enjoy the flexibility of working from home why not why not call our homeworking recruitment team today on 0800 9156713.)
• Independence Group (for independent retailers who want to benefit from our buying power and back office expertise - for more information visit the Independence Group website)
• Forex4Agents (a service which allows independent agents to offer competitively priced foreign exchange without tying up their own capital - for more information visit the Forex4Agents website)

Our organisation is made up of literally hundreds of people and when clients and companies deal with us at any level, they usually use the words professional and friendly to describe us.

We're a company that cares. We have Investor in People accreditation and have been given Inner City 100 status because we engage with local communities in the North East. I like to think we're a company with heart and a company which rewards hard work.

As we're constantly expanding, we're always looking for people to join the team. People who, like us, are passionate about the industry. People who want to enjoy the rewards of their work. People who can carry our ethos…professional and friendly. People who want to share in the success of a company which continues to go from strength to strength.

Statistics show people are increasingly shunning high street national multiples in favour of the personal service and local knowledge offered by independent travel agents. I believe it's because of the great deals which companies like ourselves can offer - and because of the way we do business.

I'm proud of my team and what we have achieved together. I hope that as you browse the rest of this site, you'll catch some of our spirit, some of our ethos and some of the success we're enjoying.


John Hays
Managing Director

For more information about an exciting career in travel contact the Hays Travel Recruitment Team today on 0191 510 5155 or by email.