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 launches its most accessible business opportunity yet - and the timing could not be more relevant
Starting a business has always taken a certain kind of courage.
In 2026, with household budgets under pressure and the economic outlook harder to read than it has been in years, it also takes a certain kind of intelligence: choosing a business with real demand behind it, real support around you, and a real way in that doesn't require betting everything on day one.
The travel industry has weathered recessions, a global pandemic and every disruption the world has thrown at it for decades. People will always want to go somewhere. What has changed in 2026 is who is building businesses around that demand, and how they are getting started.
In response to demand from people who want a lower-risk route into the industry, The Travel Franchise has launched the Lite package: an entirely new entry point into one of the most enduring industries in the world, and the most flexible opportunity the company has ever offered.
“The Lite package fills a genuine gap in the market. There are a huge number of people who want to get into travel but are not in a position to go all in straight away. They might have a full-time job, family commitments, or simply want to build their confidence before making a bigger investment. The Lite package gives them a real, legitimate way to do that with proper support behind them from day one.”
Paul Harrison, co-founder, The Travel Franchise
The Travel Franchise has spent fifteen years doing something the travel industry said couldn’t be done: taking people with no travel experience whatsoever and turning them into successful home-based travel business owners. Teachers, nurses, military personnel, corporate professionals, people returning to work after years away. 98 per cent of its franchisees came from outside travel entirely, and many have gone on to build businesses generating six figures a year. The company has been voted best lifestyle franchise in the world by the International Franchise Association for two consecutive years, sits in the top ten franchises in the UK overall, and is the only travel franchise in the country’s top 100.
The reason it works, where other models struggle, is infrastructure. Most travel franchises recruit from within the industry because the operational demands of running a travel business, the supplier relationships, the booking systems, the commercial knowledge, take years to acquire. The Travel Franchise built an alternative: a corporate support team of over 80 people, a training programme refined over hundreds of franchisee journeys, access to over £3 billion in buying power through the Hays Travel Independence Group, and a mentoring structure that means no franchisee ever has to figure it out alone.
The Lite package takes that support a step further. For £3,000, a new franchisee launches a real travel business paired from day one with one of the company’s most experienced operators, who handles the booking complexity while the newcomer focuses on building a client base. It is franchise ownership with the safety net most people wish they’d had from the start.
“The flexibility is a huge factor for me. Joining on the most affordable Lite option enabled me to change career even though I had never worked in the travel industry before.”
Chris Pratt, franchisee, The Travel Franchise
The package is designed to be run alongside an existing job or other commitments, with no pressure to go full time before the franchisee is ready. It is, in Paul Harrison’s words, a way to learn while you earn: building a client base, developing commercial instincts and finding your feet in a new industry, with an expert beside you from the very first enquiry.
For anyone reconsidering what their working life looks like and what they want it to become, the door has never been wider open.
"I've seen this business transform people's lives more times than I can count. The only thing that ever held anyone back was the size of that first step. We've just made it a lot smaller."
Jenny Farenden, head of The Travel Franchise
About The Travel Franchise
The Travel Franchise is the UK’s leading franchise for people new to the travel industry. It enables ambitious people from all walks of life to set up and run their own home-based travel business from scratch, with full training, mentoring, technology and support behind them from day one. Franchisees benefit from access to over £3 billion in buying power through the Hays Travel Independence Group, a corporate support team of over 80 people, and a community of experienced franchisees who have built successful businesses across the UK. The Travel Franchise is one of the top ten franchises in the UK overall and the only travel franchise in the country’s top 100.
Two-time Olympian Daley Thompson partner with The Travel Franchise
Partner with a company that takes you places… in business and around the world!
The Travel Franchise x Franchise Direct Webinar
The Travel Franchise | Daley Thompson Brand Ambassador Interview
The Travel Franchise | Seminar At Sea
The Travel Franchise | Summer Conference '22
The Travel Franchise | Summer Conference 2022
The Travel Franchise | Franchisee Testimonials
