In our latest instalment of ITTN Talks, we caught up with Caroline O’Toole, Head of Cruise Sales at JWT Travel. JWT has recently opened a brand new office on Upper Salthill Road in Galway, and you can read more about it here.
In this ongoing series, ITTN speaks to members of the travel trade and gives them a platform to talk about industry trends, to celebrate successes and discuss challenges their business has faced, offering unrivalled insights into the goings on of Irish travel agents.
How has 2024 been for your business so far?
JWT opened our new office in Salthill in Galway on 21st December 2023, and business has been good. We really did hit the ground running, and we haven’t stopped since! I’m very happy with how it is going, and I know it will continue to grow.
What has been your biggest surprise this year?
This must be getting to open a new Cruise & Luxury Travel shop in my hometown of Galway and having my best friend and fellow Cruise Expert, Fiona Flaherty, and my daughter, Kayleigh, onboard with me. I always knew it was going to go well, but it has been incredibly rewarding when your hard work and vision exceed your expectations. Plus, I have wonderful support from David and the amazing team at JWT Travel. They have been amazing throughout. I also must mention the local community popping into the office to wish us well, has been so lovely. I could have opened a florist and a bakery with all the lovely gifts we received!
What has been the biggest challenge to your business this year?
Getting set up for me was the biggest challenge, but it has made me more aware of how I would like the office to work from a greener point of view, we are going to minimize our paper usage by digitising documents where we can and encouraging electronic communication as much as possible with our customers. Since we opened, we have only posted 2 travel documents, which has been very satisfying.
Do you have any predictions or are you seeing patterns or emerging trends or destinations for 2024?
I think we will see bookings for 2025 coming in early this year, great to see the long-haul enquiries for Asia and South Africa coming in also which is very positive.
Are you seeing longer lead times or last-minute requests?
I think we will experience a large volume of last minute enquires for sure, as flight prices on some dates in July and August are crazy. Longer lead in yes, this I am seeing more off, as clients want to go with the extra bit of luxury be it on a Cruise or on a package holiday booking ahead means they have longer time to pay it off.
On a more personal note, what motivates your travel? New cultures/ sun worship/ exotic cuisine/ places of historical importance/ pure relaxation?
What motivates me…? All of the above, for sure, but for me it has always been my passion for what I do, I just love the industry I work in – even during the challenging times we have had during my career from 9/11, the ash cloud, and Covid being at the top of that challenging list. I never lost faith though, that we would come out of it. I just kept the head down and got on with it.
What it did do for me, on a personal note, was to recognise and learn how to value myself and to surround myself with supportive people.
What is your dream holiday, and why?
It has to be Vietnam and Cambodia on a luxury river cruise – that would be my dream holiday. I have always wanted to go to Vietnam after watching ‘Good Morning, Vietnam’ about 100 times! I have always had a dream to go there someday. I would also like to go back to the Maldives, and an Alaskan Cruise, oh and did I mention all off the above flying business class!?
Where is 2024 taking you?
Gosh! Now where will I begin? We are working on some exciting new projects, so I will be kept busy getting those off the ground, and we are looking at recruiting some new staff for both the Galway and Dublin offices.
Check out our previous ITTN Talks interviews with Dominic Burke (Travel Centres), Catherine Cinnamond (Ace Travel), Cathy Burke (Travel Counsellors), and more recently, Jeff Collins (Best4Travel).
To take part in this series, email [email protected].
