Premier Travel

What Premier Travel does

Premier Travel is a privately owned, independent UK travel agency established in 1936, operating under The Premier Travel Group alongside its tour-operator arm, Premier Holidays. The company runs 32 physical retail branches across East Anglia and Southern England, supported by a phone helpline (0800 3164 379) and online enquiry channels, and sells a diversified leisure-travel portfolio including cruise holidays, long-haul packages, city breaks, traditional UK holidays, bespoke tailor-made journeys, beach holidays, theatre breaks, and overseas wedding arrangements. Ancillary services include travel money exchange and visa/ETA arrangement assistance, with recent marketing emphasizing a "BIG Travel Sale" campaign across campaign pages for city breaks, long haul, and cruises.

The business has no proprietary technology platform; it operates on standard travel booking systems and third-party tour-operator connections, with no mobile app, public API, or disclosed AI/ML capability. Customer trust is anchored in ABTA membership and ATOL protection, ICO data-controller registration, and a 90-year brand heritage, with a privately held ownership structure under Managing Director Paul Waters. The go-to-market is sales-led and direct-to-consumer: individual travellers seeking personalized guidance and financial protection book either in branch, by phone, or via website enquiry, and the model depends on long-tenured consultants with personal client rosters rather than self-service digital booking.

Revenue is generated through three transaction-fee streams: (1) commission from tour operators and travel service providers when bookings are made through the branches, (2) administrative service charges including cancellation/amendment fees (£25 + principal's charge), balance-extension fees (£15), National Express booking fees (£5 per person), and visa-arrangement fees (£5 per person), and (3) travel money exchange with no commission and no minimum spend. Holiday prices are dynamically set and range from approximately £463 per person for short city breaks to £6,659 per person for luxury cruise holidays, varying by destination, duration, accommodation, and season, with billing on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Name

Premier Travel

Legal name

The Premier Travel Group

Website

https://premier-travel.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1936

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Premier Travel is a privately owned UK travel agency, founded in 1936, operating 32 retail branches across East Anglia and Southern England and selling leisure holidays to individual consumers. The company is ABTA- and ATOL-protected, with Paul Waters as Managing Director.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Travel Agency

NAICS

Travel Agencies (56151), Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Leisure & Generalist Retail Travel Agencies (THAKABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Luxury & Premium Leisure Travel Agencies (THAKABAC), Cruise Retail Travel Agencies (THAKABAF)

Keywords

• Retail travel agency
• Holiday packages
• Cruise holidays
• Travel money exchange
• Tailor-made holidays

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices29 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Travel Agency Commission: Premier Travel acts as a travel agent, earning commissions from tour operators and travel service providers when customers book holidays through their branches. They work with multiple trusted tour operator partners to offer a wide range of travel products.
2. Service Charges: The company applies various service charges including cancellation/amendment fees (£25 per booking plus principal's charge), balance extension fees (£15 per booking), National Express booking fees (£5 per person), visa arrangement fees (£5 per person), and other administrative services.
3. Travel Money Exchange: The company offers travel money exchange services with no commission charged and no minimum spend, providing competitive exchange rates on major currencies collected from local branches.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Premier Travel is an independent retail travel agency that sells holiday packages sourced from multiple tour operators, including cruise holidays, long-haul holidays, city breaks, traditional UK holidays, bespoke tailor-made journeys, beach holidays, theatre breaks, and overseas weddings. It also offers ancillary services such as travel money currency exchange and visa/ETA arrangement assistance, delivered through 32 physical branches, a phone helpline, and online enquiries across East Anglia and Southern England.

Product overview

Premier Travel is a privately owned, independent travel agency operating 32 branches across East Anglia and Southern England. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of travel products and services through its core brands: cruise holidays (ocean, river, luxury, and fly-cruise options), long haul holidays, city breaks, traditional UK holidays, bespoke tailor-made journeys, beach holidays, theatre breaks, and overseas wedding planning. Additional services include travel money exchange and visa/ETA arrangement assistance. Premier Travel works as an agency with multiple tour operators and also operates Premier Holidays as its tour operation division, providing direct package holidays to destinations including the Channel Islands, Far East, India, Sri Lanka, Middle East, Southern Africa, Indian Ocean, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific. The company is ABTA and ATOL protected for consumer financial security.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cruise Holidays
• Long Haul Holidays Long-distance holiday packages to destinations such as the Maldives, Thailand, and the Caribbean, including flights, hotels, and arranged extras, sold to individual leisure travellers.
• City Breaks Short-stay city break packages to European and global destinations, including weekend getaways and longer stays with flights, hotels, and optional extras, sold to individual travellers.
• Traditional UK Holidays Holiday packages within the United Kingdom offered to individual leisure travellers through Premier Travel's branch network and tour operator partnerships.
• Bespoke Tailor-Made Journeys Customised, made-to-order holiday itineraries crafted to individual client specifications for travel to destinations worldwide, sold to travellers seeking non-standard packages.
• Beach Holidays Beach vacation packages to coastal destinations, offered alongside other holiday types through Premier Travel's tour operator partnerships.
• Theatre Breaks Package holidays combining travel with theatre showings, offered as part of Premier Travel's diverse product portfolio to individual travellers.
• Overseas Weddings Destination wedding planning services and travel packages for couples seeking to hold their wedding ceremony overseas.
• Travel Money Currency exchange service offering competitive rates on major currencies with no commission charges and no minimum spend requirements, with collection available from Premier Travel's local branches.
• Visa and ETA Arrangements Assistance service for arranging travel visas, ESTAs, ETAs, and ETIAS for international travel, charged at visa fee plus £5 per person, provided to Premier Travel customers.
• Travel Agency Branch Network Premier Travel's 32 physical branch locations across East Anglia and Southern England, including Hallmark Travel (East Grinstead) and Cannon Travel (Hoddesdon), providing face-to-face travel consultation and booking services to individual consumers.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Royal Caribbean CruisesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2025Premier Travel collaborates with Royal Caribbean Cruises as part of a rugby sponsorship initiative supporting Eastern Counties Rugby's Women's Representative Team and Age Grade Girls Series. Premier Travel provides funding for medals and cups at the Eastern Counties Girls Finals event.
• Eastern Counties Rugby Union (ECRU)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 March 2025Premier Travel continues support for Eastern Counties Rugby, particularly their Women's Representative Team as they strive to replicate achievements in the Gill Burns National Championship. The company sponsors the Eastern Counties Girls Finals at Norwich RFC.
• ABTAcoreOthers · 1 January 2025Premier Travel is a member of ABTA (The Travel Association), providing customers with ABTA's assistance and Code of Conduct. Package holidays are protected in case of financial failure, and customers can access ABTA's ADR scheme for dispute resolution.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hays Travel: Largest independent UK retail travel agency with a high-street branch network selling tour operator packages, cruises, and tailor-made holidays; directly comparable business model, customer base (UK leisure travellers), and ABTA/ATOL-protected value proposition to Premier Travel.
• Barrhead Travel: Scottish-based independent UK retail travel agency operating a branch network selling tour operator packages, cruises, and holidays; closely comparable to Premier Travel in retail-branch-led sales model, ABTA/ATOL-protected offering, and target customer.
• Trailfinders: UK-based independent travel agency with a multi-branch retail network focused on long-haul, tailormade, and experiential holidays with consultant-led service; directly comparable to Premier Travel in offering bespoke journeys and consultative sales.
• Flight Centre UK: UK retail arm of Flight Centre Travel Group operating high-street travel shops selling leisure holidays, cruises, and tailor-made trips; directly comparable high-street retail travel agency model serving UK consumers.
• Co-operative Travel: UK retail travel agency selling tour operator packages via a high-street branch network; directly comparable retail agency model to Premier Travel with similar ABTA/ATOL-protected leisure holiday offering.

Others

• Holiday Extras: UK provider of travel add-ons (airport parking, hotels, lounges, insurance) sold directly to leisure travellers; comparable customer base and complementary product set, but not a direct competitor for the holiday booking itself.

Broad incumbents

• TUI UK: Largest UK tour operator and retailer with its own airline, cruise ships, and hundreds of high-street stores; competes with Premier Travel across package holidays, cruises, and city breaks, but at significantly larger scale with vertically integrated product.
• Booking.com: Global online travel agency dominant in accommodation and increasingly package bookings; represents the principal digital competitive pressure on traditional retail agencies like Premier Travel rather than direct product overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Premiertravel3
• Instagraminstagram.com/premier.traveluk
• TikToktiktok.com/@premiertravel
• Xx.com/premiertravel3
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/premier-travel-agency-limited

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Premier Travel