Street branch helps travel company win industry award

The Street branch of the Your Co-op Travel agency is celebrating helping the company to a triumphant win at the prestigious Travel Weekly Agent Achievement Awards, which took place recently in London.

Part of The Midcounties Co-operative, Your Co-op Travel, which has 76 branches across England's mid-counties, including the one in Street High Street, scooped the Central England Large Agency award for the eighth consecutive year.

Launched more than 25 years ago by leading multimedia company and magazine for the UK travel industry, Travel Weekly, the annual Agent Achievement Awards are regarded as the highest honour in the industry for both individual travel agents and agencies.

This year's awards were the first to be held since the start of the pandemic and were designed to honour those travel agencies and travel agents who have truly represented the best of the industry over the past 18 months.

Hosted by comedian, Tom Allen, and Travel Weekly editor-in-chief, Lucy Huxley, at a glittering awards ceremony in London, the winners are selected based on voting by travel industry suppliers including tour operators, airlines, cruise lines and tourist boards.

The news of the award-win was followed by a government announcement that the traffic light system is to be simplified from October 4, with just two categories – "red" and "rest of the world" – which will provide a higher degree of clarity for travellers and a welcome boost for the tourism industry.

Additionally, from October 4 fully-vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to take a test before returning to the UK, and the expensive "day-2" PCR test will be replaced with a cheaper, lateral flow option towards the end of October, removing two significant barriers for holidaymakers.

Natalie Turner, head of branches for Your Co-op Travel, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have been named Central England Large Agency of the Year for the eighth year running.

"It's been a challenging 18 months for our colleagues but the service and support they have given to their customers throughout the pandemic has been unwavering. This award is testament to their passion, resilience, and expertise.

"The government shake-up of the traffic light system and testing requirements for fully-vaccinated holidaymakers, the news of which came hot on the heels of our award-win, has given us all a boost too.

"That, along with the news of more destinations being moved off the government's red list, including the Maldives, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Oman, and the US announcing that it will lift the ban on Brits visiting from November, if they are fully vaccinated, gives holidaymakers a wider choice of destination, particularly for an autumn or winter-sun escape.

"We saw a 58 per cent jump in holiday bookings on Monday September 20, compared with the previous Monday, with Turkey leading the way for October half-term getaways, followed by the Canary Islands and Spain.

"We advise anyone looking to travel to book through a travel agent, who can give them all the information they need, including where they can go and what testing and documentation they will need.

"Customers should remember that just because a country is on the UK government's go list, this doesn't mean the destination is viable for a British traveller taking a holiday.

"Some countries still won't allow visitors from the UK in, either at all or without a significant period of quarantine on arrival.

"An experienced travel agent can navigate holidaymakers through the rules and regulations that are relevant to their vaccination status and ensure the holiday is a success.

"It's also important to book with a tour operator that offers flexibility, which the many and varied travel companies we work with do.

"For added peace of mind, at Your Co-op Travel, we're offering customers booking package holidays with our own tour operator, Co-op Holidays, low deposits, flexible payment options, free changes and cancellations and cash refunds within 10 days, as part of the Co-op Holidays Promise.

"We're also offering, in partnership with Your Co-op Pharmacy, a discount on government-accredited Covid-19 tests, when customers book a holiday with Your Co-op Travel. The discount code is issued upon booking confirmation."