Are you loving being customer-facing and in your new store?
Having the store for us is a dream as we get to meet our clients face to face to really build long term relationships. I think the world can be too digital sometimes and we want to bring back that personal experience to our clients by having a chat about travel over a coffee or a glass of something fizzy.

Has launching the store been your ultimate goal since setting up Swords Travel?
Since we launched Swords Travel over three years ago, the goal has always been to have a retail store, however we want our store to be different to your standard travel agents. It will be more homely, relaxed and a space to feel inspired about your next travel plans. Ideally we’ll book appointments with clients at a time that suits them, that could include evenings and weekends. Ultimately it’s a space for our clients to escape the day-to-day stresses of life and start planning their next exciting trip with someone who knows what they are talking about. The difference when booking with us is that we go beyond Google.

What are your plans moving forward?

We love being a small business and knowing our clients individual needs. The plan is to keep it that way. We never want to be too big but there’s definitely plans to replicate the service we offer in Wimbledon into Surrey and other areas of south west London.

What makes you different from other travel agents on the high street?
What makes us different is that we sell on our own experience and heavily invest in the knowledge of our team. This year alone we’ve visited over 18 destinations between five of us and this is why we know our product. We will continue to travel and ensure our knowledge inspires our customers to recommend the next best place to go. In addition to that we also have a dedicated concierge to continue that service once your holiday is booked. We are with our customers from the start of the booking process to the moment they return making sure everything runs like clockwork.

You’ve just been awarded a TTG travel award – how does that feel?
We are absolutely delighted to be awarded one of the UK’s top 50 travel agents. This process was extremely challenging, so we are very proud to win this accolade. In the last 12 months we’ve won 6 industry awards which is something as team we are thrilled with and this motivates us to excel in what we do.