Tom Morgan freely admits he didn’t have to leave Riviera Travel when he did.
Having worked in various trade-facing roles at the escorted touring and river cruise specialist for the best part of a decade, Morgan became a go-to figure for agents wanting to sell more of the operator’s diverse product mix.
So why did Morgan leave Riviera to become G Touring’s trade sales director earlier this year? “Travelsphere and Just You [G Touring’s brands] have so much potential,” he says. “Plus, it was a great opportunity to work with agents.”
In his first trade press interview since taking the role, Morgan repeatedly stresses the “huge growth potential” inherent in both brands, and how agents can drive them forward.
One day, he hopes solo specialist Just You can become the “UK’s largest escorted touring brand sold through travel agents”. But he concedes: “We’re not near that at the moment – it’s a pretty ambitious goal.”
Bookings, though, are heading in the right direction. Morgan reveals Just You sales are up 25% year-on-year, while escorted touring brand Travelsphere “sells itself”.
And despite being in the role for just two months when he talks to TTG, Morgan believes he has already found areas for improvement.
Two-month targets
Firstly, he thinks that Just You is “slightly under indexing” with homeworkers. He insists: “We’re actively encouraging them to get in touch with us.”
To attract more homeworking agents, Morgan wants to expand the trade sales team, which currently consists of key account managers Jasmine Moreton and Jason Kemp, and head of trade sales Rachel Mould, who joined G Touring in June 2022.
Morgan is quick to hail Mould, who last year oversaw G Touring’s trade relationships during a four-month period after Sarah Weetman joined Kuoni and before Morgan, Kemp and Moreton were in place.
“She did a fantastic job of keeping us in front of agents,” Morgan says.