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 unveils new initiatives and celebrates “a phenomenal 2023” for holiday bookings and franchise investment at its largest-ever UK annual conference
- Holiday sales grew 36.6% in 2023 with one couple taking over £3.8 million in sales during 2023
- New franchisee sign ups more than double
- New high-profile board of directors unveiled
- New initiatives to skyrocket cruise and other niche areas ski and golf unveiled
- Latest Money-Back Challenge winner announced and refunded franchise fee
- New luxury overseas trips and cruises announced for franchisees
IT’S A LITTLE unusual for a travel company to hold its annual company conference for franchisees on Sunshine Saturday, the first Saturday after the festive period which is typically the most popular day of the year for holidaymakers to book a trip abroad.
But The Travel Franchise did just that, hosting over 400 consultants, who operate under the Not Just Travel brand, and 50 corporate teams in Stratford-Upon-Avon last weekend (6th-7th January).
The company, which in 2023 was ranked 10th best franchise in the UK by Franchise Direct ahead of brands such as Vodafone, and was no.17 in Elite Franchise’s Top 100, was keen to announce and celebrate the fact that 2023 was a “phenomenal year” in terms of holiday sales, profit and franchisee recruitment.
Not only does the franchise have a reputation for doing things a little differently (it’s the only company that refunds its franchise fee to those that do well in the first year), it was also confident that its franchisees were so far ahead of their competitors that they could afford to take a break from taking holiday bookings, or take them on their laptops in breaks as they networked at the conference (which many did!).
Co-Founder Paul Harrison said: ““Having over 400 consultants in the room is great testament to how the company has grown so fast; that is down to the strength of our passionate consultants and expert corporate team.
“Our holiday sales grew by 36.6% in 2023 which is phenomenal - especially when compared to many other travel companies. It’s even more impressive when you consider that 98 per cent of franchisees have joined us from outside the travel industry. It’s testament to the high level of training and support we offer and, now word has got out, we are seeing huge demand for franchises - over 164 per cent.”
But co-founders Paul Harrison and Steve Witt are not resting on their laurels and announced new high profile appointments plus several new initiatives and strategies each designed to help consultants significantly grow their business and profits.
Harrison adds: “We've paid more commission to our travel franchisees than ever before, as their sales go stratospheric. Every year, our business develops and evolves. The investment we’re putting into people, resources, tech and training means we are going to achieve something even more incredible in the next five years.”
“In 2023, we saw nearly double the amount of people invest in a franchise with us than the previous year. With such a fast rate of recruitment, we believe we are the fastest-selling franchise of any kind in the UK. In addition, we have rapidly expanded our expert corporate team to offer members the unbeatable support we are recognised for.
“Going forward, in 2024 we are implementing a number of initiatives and programmes to help our members be even more profitable.”
One new initiative is to increase marketing materials and social media training for franchisees. The co-founders were joined on-stage by brand ambassadors Laura Hamilton, TV presenter of A Place in the Sun and travel presenter Hayley Sparkes who hosted the conference and work with Not Just Travel to provide its consultants with ready-made digital marketing content and personal branding training.
New initiatives to skyrocket cruise and ski and golf unveiled
Other initiatives include making its Cruise Mastery Programme and cruise website even more dynamic, ramping up ship tours and offering two training cruises or ‘Seminars at Sea’ with its partners Virgin Voyages and Princess Cruises.
The Travel Franchise’s consultants, who operate under the Not Just Travel brand, now make twice as many cruise bookings as they did in September 2022 following the launch of the company’s Cruise Division and Cruise Mastery Programme.
Dame Irene Hays who spoke via video message at the conference commented: “Not Just Travel’s focus on the cruise market in the last 12 months has been phenomenal and we can all see the results.”
Plans are now underway to train and support franchisees who want to become experts in ski and golf.
2024 overseas trips announced to Mauritius, Canary Islands and Florida
In 2023, The Travel Franchise and its customer-facing brand Not Just Travel hosted more free company trips than ever before with over 800 training places booked.
For 2024, it plans to increase the number of free trips for those on its Elite package and announced dates for company mentorship retreats to Mauritius with partner Beachcomber, Fuerteventura with TUI and also Florida.
“Many franchisees say the trips are worth the franchise fee alone,” says Harrison. These include people such as Mark and Isobel McCardie who took bookings worth over £3.8 million in 2023.
Success of new franchisees revealed
Harrison also announced that franchisee Kirsty McNeice was the latest Money-Back Challenge winner and would be receiving a £14,995 refund of her franchise fee because she managed to achieve a set amount of commission in the first 12 months of launching her travel business. Another new franchisee, Dawn Carney, who only joined in December and is already on course to achieve the challenge having made 11 holiday bookings already.
New board members revealed
New board members were introduced at the conference. These include Derek Jones, who has over 30 years’ experience in the travel industry and was formerly MD of Kuoni; and Darren Thompson, who was a founding cornerstone investor and board director for loveholidays.
Says Jones: “This is the beginning of a new era in Not Just Travel. In 2024 you will see many more ground-breaking initiatives coming out of this incredible business as we embark on our next stage of rapid growth.
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