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 sets sail on its latest cruise training seminar at sea
Franchisees enjoy a Virgin Voyages cruise that combines workshops with onboard experiences to help them conquer the booming lucrative cruise market
Co-founder of The Travel Franchise and Not Just Travel Paul Harrison has taken 95 franchisees and staff on a company cruise on board Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady around the Med.
The trip is not only a great opportunity for the travel consultants to experience the cruise firsthand – and hence make it easier for them to sell – but it’s also a chance for them to attend a series of workshops that teach them how to master the art of selling a cruise.
The pioneering ‘Seminar at Sea’ is the fourth cruise organised by the company’s Cruise Division which was set up in 2022 with the aim of educating and training agents to take full advantage of the growing cruise market. Since then, the company has seen cruise sales soar, and the trend continues unabated.
According to the latest statistics from Cruise Lines International Association, the leading voice of the global cruise community, cruise holidays continue to be one of the fastest-growing and most resilient sectors of tourism.
- In 2023 31.7 million passengers took a cruise – almost two million more compared with pre-pandemic days.
- In 2024 that figure is due to rise even more with 35.7 million cruise passengers forecasted.
- The number of new-to-cruise passengers is rising each year – 27% of everyone that cruised in 2023 were first-time cruisers!
Alongside the sector’s growth, cruise holidays also command some of the highest commissions in the travel industry and it’s an area where agents are in demand - 73% of cruise travellers say their travel advisor has a meaningful impact on their cruise holiday.
But agents need to be aware of the complexities that often come with booking a cruise: namely the need to be familiar with the hundreds of cruise lines on offer and the thousands of cruise ships available, not to mention the choice of cabin; the choice of package and the choice of itinerary.
On this Seminar at Sea agents get to experience Virgin Voyages’ “Irresistible Med” itinerary and attend intensive training workshops delivered by leading cruise experts, plus they are learning hands-on techniques and game-changing strategies to boost their cruise bookings.
They can also meet Not Just Travel’s brand ambassador Hayley Sparkes, who is sharing presenting techniques and on-screen confidence strategies.
Says Harrison: “Our Seminar at Sea is always hosted by one of our incredible key trade cruise partners and is our ultimate investment in people; we pay for our consultants to open their eyes to the endless possibilities within the cruise market and the results are incredible.”
The training clearly works. After just a few days six franchisees had made bookings despite the jam-packed itinerary.
Other consultants within the company who have become top cruise sellers have also made some big bookings this year including:
- A £73k South America Silverseas cruise for two people
- A £58k Seven Seas Caribbean cruise
- A £57k New Zealand cruise
- A £70k cruise in Asia for six
With some cruises generating 15 per cent commission, it’s no wonder our cruise training trips are popular!
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