The Travel Franchise is the UK’s number one franchise for people new to travel. With over twenty years in the market, more than 750 successful travel consultants and a business model that has been tested, refined and proven over two decades, it gives aspiring entrepreneurs everything they need to launch their own home-based travel agency from scratch, regardless of prior experience, and begin earning industry-leading commission from day one.
In both 2025 and 2026 the company was named Best Lifestyle Franchise in the World and Best European Franchise at the International Franchise Association’s Global Franchise Awards, two years running. It is also one of the top ten franchises in the UK overall, the only travel franchise to achieve that recognition, sitting in the rankings alongside major household brands. The business is backed by celebrity brand ambassadors TV broadcaster Eamonn Holmes OBE and double Olympic champion Daley Thompson CBE.
Two packages designed around your life
The Lite Mentorship Programme is the most accessible entry point into the travel industry available in the UK today. Starting from the equivalent of £28 a week, it is designed specifically for people who want to enter the travel industry gradually and part time without giving up their current income or their existing commitments. Every Lite consultant is paired with one of twenty hand-picked experienced travel professionals from the very first day. Both parties earn commission on every booking that completes. It is a true business partnership from day one, not a training scheme or a shadowing programme, but a real commercial arrangement in which both sides are invested in the same outcome.
The results from the Lite programme have been remarkable. One consultant generated over £81,000 in sales within her first two and a half months, including a single £50,488 booking for a complex six-and-a-half-week itinerary to Canada and Alaska. She had no prior travel experience. Her mentor handled the booking. She found the lead, managed the relationship and earned her share of the commission. When she is ready to upgrade to Elite and handle bookings independently, the knowledge, the client base and the confidence will already be in place.
“I can highly recommend the Lite package. Working with an experienced consultant from day one is great. A really great way to start a travel business.”
The Elite package at £14,995 plus VAT is the most popular and the most complete version of the business. It includes five days of intensive live online training delivered in small groups and rated excellent on Trustpilot, a dedicated Business Consultant from day one, two fully funded overseas mentorship retreats as standard, the unique Money-Back Challenge which gives you the chance to get your initial franchise investment refunded if you hit a set level of commission in your first year, and the full technology suite. For anyone ready to commit fully and build something with genuine long-term earning potential, it is the strongest travel franchise opportunity available in the UK today.
What the business actually involves
Franchisees earn commission from travel suppliers every time they plan and book a holiday for a client. The average commission is around ten per cent of the booking value. The average UK holiday is worth approximately £4,500, generating around £400 per booking. Franchisees keep up to 75 per cent of what they generate, one of the highest commission splits in the sector. Two consistent bookings a week produces over £40,000 a year. As the client base grows and repeat bookings and referrals compound, the income grows with it. High-ticket niches like luxury tailor-made itineraries, cruises, destination weddings and group travel generate some of the highest commissions available in the entire retail sector, often for the same effort as a standard booking.
The consultant’s role is to find customers, build relationships and book holidays. The franchise handles everything else: the technology, the supplier negotiations, the ticketing, the admin, the back office and the ongoing training and development. Franchisees are never left to figure things out alone. The support is there from day one and it stays there for the entire journey.
What is included
- Five-day live online training rated excellent on Trustpilot, start booking holidays the same week
- Access to over 450 ABTA and ATOL bonded travel suppliers with exclusive trade-only deals unavailable to the public
- Dedicated Business Consultant providing one-to-one coaching and support six days a week
- Head office operations team handling all ticketing and travel admin so franchisees can focus on selling
- Free weekly webinars, in-person training events and annual company conferences
- Two fully funded overseas mentorship retreats to luxury destinations included in the Elite package
- Personal marketing website, ready-made social media content and professional marketing materials from day one
- TProfile quotation tool to create stunning interactive client proposals that convert enquiries into bookings
- NJT Smart AI, an AI platform built specifically for travel consultants, provided completely free
- Vision CRM acting as a personal assistant for client management and commission tracking
- Partners in Travel scheme to build a client base through local business and charity partnerships
- Investment refund guarantee on the Elite package: hit a set commission level in your first twelve months and receive your entire £14,995 back in full, the only offer of its kind in the travel franchise sector
Real results from real people
98 % of The Travel Franchise’s franchisees had no travel background before joining. Former teachers, police officers, NHS workers, corporate professionals, military veterans, paramedics and stay-at-home parents have all built thriving businesses by following the same proven model with the right support behind them. Many earn £40,000 or more part time. Full-time franchisees regularly achieve six figures. Some have built businesses generating millions in annual sales.
“We finished training at 3pm on the Friday and by 4.30pm on the same day we had our first booking. And it was from a complete stranger. What an amazing feeling!”
The Elite package also includes something unique: the chance to get the entire franchise fee back. It works like this. If an Elite franchisee reaches a set level of commission within their first twelve months, The Travel Franchise refunds their entire £14,995 investment in full. No small print. No conditions beyond hitting the commission target. For franchisees who follow the model and put in the work, it means the business can effectively cost them nothing. Dozens have achieved it, some in as little as six months. It is the most compelling proof available that The Travel Franchise genuinely believes in its own model.
“There were other similar companies but The Travel Franchise and its customer-facing brand Not Just Travel pulled me in due to the high level of support.”
The Travel Franchise helps three franchisees open high street shops and premises
The Travel Franchise has helped hundreds of people new to travel launch home-based businesses but now some franchisees are so successful they are now turning to the company for help in expanding and opening premises.
In the past month alone the company has assisted three of its dynamic franchisees go from being home-based travel consultants to having thriving retail outlets.
These include James and Natasha Oliphant and Rachael and Colman Coyne - two of the company’s most successful husband and wife duos.
While many franchisees operate under the company’s customer-facing brand, Not Just Travel, many chose their own company names. Rachael and Colman launched their ‘Jetset’ retail unit on Lindley High Street, Huddersfield on 9th November.
“Investing in our local area feels natural for us,” said Rachael. “Consumer confidence continues to be high and so we have decided to respond to customer demand by opening a new shop. We previously welcomed clients into our garden office to plan their next adventure, but our customer base has expanded enough to need additional staff and a high-street presence.”
Meanwhile, James and Natasha have opened a new travel centre within Longacres Garden centre in Bagshot. The new premises is capturing a lot of new clients who want that initial face-to-face reassurance, says Natasha.
“We’re finding that a number of new clients initially come to us because they’re bogged down with the information available online. They just want to come in and speak to someone.”
As the business grows, the couple may well appoint a member of staff to help them out.
And thirdly, consultant Kelly Baldwin has launched "The Aspire Travel Hub" on Cottenham High Street in Cambridgeshire. Having launched her Aspire business in 2022 she’s scaled up rapidly and now oversees a six-person team.
Opening the “Hub” was a natural progression for her, allowing her team to gather in-person, blending the flexibility of homeworking with an office base and thereby promoting both team well-being as well as servicing the local community.
Not Just Travel co-founder Steve Witt said: “We’re proud of the work the HQ team has done behind the scenes to enable our homeworkers to grow into high street retail. Our consultants have adapted to their customers’ needs and we have adapted to the needs of our consultants. These are entrepreneurs who have built incredible businesses based on our company values and relationships and have achieved so much. We can’t wait to see what they achieve next.”
With the vast majority of franchisees continuing to enjoy the flexibility of running their travel businesses from their home, the fact that more consumers are turning to travel agents to research and book their holidays is seeing more franchisees wanting to appoint staff and grow their premises in order to keep up with demand.
According to the latest figures from the Association of British Travel Agents, the proportion of people saying they booked a holiday with a travel professional in the past 12 months has risen to 38%, up from 34% last year.
In particular, young families and younger age groups are increasingly turning to travel professionals to book their holidays; a trend which has been steadily building over the past five years.
In 2019, 36% of families with young children said they booked a holiday with a travel professional, which rose to 55% this year, while the proportion of 18-24-year-olds booking with travel professionals has risen from 36% in 2019 to almost half (48%) this year.
“This is a yet more clarification that a travel franchise is a good investment for those looking to grow a successful – and fun – business,” said Witt. “The business is out there and we’ll help our consultants to go out there and grab it.”
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