Dawson & Sanderson
Dawson & Sanderson is a UK retail travel agency founded in 1962 that sells package holidays, cruises, and touring trips from 19 partner operators to consumers in the North of England through retail stores, a phone booking line, and an e-commerce website.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1962
- HeadquartersSouth Shields, United Kingdom
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Dawson & Sanderson does
Dawson & Sanderson Ltd is a privately held UK retail travel agency founded in 1962 and headquartered in South Shields, with operating presence in Newcastle and Yorkshire. The company acts as a commission-based intermediary between consumers in the North of England and a broad portfolio of third-party travel suppliers, selling package holidays, cruises, and escorted touring holidays under its own brand rather than operating its own flights, hotels, or ships.
The core product catalogue is organized into eight travel styles (Beach, Family, All Inclusive, Luxury, Cities & Short Breaks, Cruises, Worldwide, Touring, plus Ski) sourced from approximately 19 partner operators including TUI, Jet2holidays, easyJet holidays, Emirates Holidays, P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Cunard, Celebrity Cruises, Fred. Olsen, Marella Cruises, Newmarket Holidays, Riviera Travel, and Wendy Wu. Ancillary revenue lines include Holiday Extras (insurance, transfers, airport parking), Attractions ticketing, and a Travel Money currency exchange service. The technology stack is conventional e-commerce and martech (Google Analytics, Klaviyo, Snowplow) with no proprietary platform or AI components disclosed.
The company runs a multi-channel distribution model combining physical retail stores, a phone-based Holiday Booking Line (Mon-Fri 9am-8pm), and the dawsonandsanderson.co.uk e-commerce site, with email newsletters for repeat engagement. All package holidays are ATOL-protected and the agency holds ABTA membership (K1638). Revenue is generated through supplier commissions on each booking; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The business operates as an independent member of the Advantage Travel Partnership, a buying and marketing consortium for UK independent travel agents.
Dawson & Sanderson firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Dawson & Sanderson
- Legal name
- Dawson & Sanderson Ltd
- Website
- https://holidayco.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1962
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Dawson & Sanderson is a UK retail travel agency founded in 1962 that sells package holidays, cruises, and touring trips from 19 partner operators to consumers in the North of England through retail stores, a phone booking line, and an e-commerce website.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Dawson & Sanderson industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Travel Agency Services
- NAICS
- Travel Agencies (561510)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cruise Retail Travel Agencies (THAKABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cruise Booking Platforms & OTAs (THAEAFAA), Retail Cruise-Only Travel Agencies (Leisure) (THAKAKAA)
Keywords
Where Dawson & Sanderson is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- South Shields
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Dawson & Sanderson business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Holiday Package Sales Commission: Dawson & Sanderson earns revenue by selling package holidays and travel services from multiple tour operator partners (including easyJet holidays, TUI, Jet2holidays, and others) and cruise lines (including P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and others). The company acts as a retail intermediary, earning commissions on each booking made through their agency.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels2 records
Dawson & Sanderson product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Dawson & Sanderson is a traditional retail travel agency that sells package holidays, cruise bookings, and touring holidays on behalf of multiple partner tour operators and cruise lines (including TUI, Jet2holidays, easyJet holidays, P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and others). Customers can purchase holidays through the agency's physical retail stores in the North of England, a dedicated phone booking line, or its e-commerce website, with all bookings financially protected under the ATOL scheme and ABTA membership.
Product overview
Dawson & Sanderson is a traditional travel agency operating since 1962, offering a unified holiday booking service that connects customers with a portfolio of travel products sourced from partnered tour operators. The core offering consists of Package Holidays (via easyJet holidays, Emirates Holidays, Jet2holidays, Ocean Holidays, TUI), Cruise Bookings (via Ambassador, Celebrity, Cunard, Fred. Olsen, Marella, P&O, Royal Caribbean), and Touring Bookings (via Just You, Newmarket, Riviera Travel, Sandals, Titan, Travelsphere, Wendy Wu). These are organized around eight Travel Styles: Beach, Family, All Inclusive, Luxury, Cities & Short Breaks, Cruises, Worldwide, and Touring, plus Ski holidays. Add-on services include Holiday Extras, Attractions, and Travel Money. The agency differentiates through personal service via its Holiday Booking Line (phone) and retail stores, positioning itself as an alternative to online-only booking.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Package Holidays
Companies that use Dawson & Sanderson
Customer profileSegments9 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Dawson & Sanderson technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Dawson & Sanderson partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- easyJet holidayscoreeasyJet holidays is offered as a package holiday operator partner through Dawson & Sanderson's website. The partnership allows customers to book easyJet holiday packages through the agency's retail stores, phone line, and website.
- Emirates HolidayscoreEmirates Holidays is listed as a package holiday operator partner, offering premium airline-backed holiday packages available through Dawson & Sanderson's booking services.
- Jet2holidayscoreJet2holidays is prominently featured as a key partner with promotional banners on the website featuring family savings offers. The partnership includes featured promotional campaigns and deals.
- Ocean HolidaysminorOcean Holidays is listed as a package holiday operator partner available for booking through Dawson & Sanderson.
- TUIcoreTUI is featured as a major package holiday operator partner, one of the largest travel operators globally, available through Dawson & Sanderson's booking channels.
- Ambassador Cruise LineminorAmbassador Cruise Line is listed as a cruise partner, offering traditional-style cruise experiences available through Dawson & Sanderson's cruise booking services.
- Celebrity CruisescoreCelebrity Cruises is featured as a premium cruise line partner, offering contemporary cruise experiences available for booking through Dawson & Sanderson.
- CunardcoreCunard is listed as a prestigious cruise partner, known for classic ocean liner experiences, available through Dawson & Sanderson's cruise booking services.
- Fred. Olsen Cruise LinescoreFred. Olsen Cruise Lines is featured as a cruise partner with promotional offers available through Dawson & Sanderson. The partnership includes featured branding on the website.
- Marella CruisescoreMarella Cruises is listed as a cruise partner, offering contemporary cruise experiences, available for booking through Dawson & Sanderson's services.
- P&O CruisescoreP&O Cruises is prominently featured as a key cruise partner with promotional banners on the website. The partnership includes featured branding and promotional campaigns.
- Royal Caribbean InternationalcoreRoyal Caribbean International is featured as a major cruise partner with prominent branding and promotional offers available through Dawson & Sanderson.
- Just YouminorJust You is listed as a touring partner specializing in solo traveler holidays and group tours for individual travelers.
- Newmarket HolidayscoreNewmarket Holidays is featured as a key touring partner with promotional banners highlighting savings on 2026 tours. The partnership includes active promotional campaigns.
- Riviera TravelminorRiviera Travel is listed as a touring partner offering escorted tours and river cruises available through Dawson & Sanderson.
- SandalsminorSandals is listed as a touring partner specializing in Caribbean resort holidays and luxury all-inclusive experiences.
- Titan TravelminorTitan Travel is listed as a touring partner offering escorted tours and specialist travel experiences available through Dawson & Sanderson.
- TravelsphereminorTravelsphere is listed as a touring partner offering guided holiday experiences available for booking through Dawson & Sanderson.
- Wendy WuminorWendy Wu is listed as a touring partner specializing in Asia tours and Japan travel experiences available through Dawson & Sanderson.
- Advantage Travel PartnershipcoreDawson & Sanderson is a member of the Advantage Travel Partnership, a network of independent travel agents providing collective buying power, marketing support, and industry resources to member agencies.
- ABTAcoreDawson & Sanderson is a member of ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) with membership number K1638. ABTA provides industry standards, consumer protection, and travel confidence certification for the agency's customers.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Dawson & Sanderson competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Audley Travel: Audley Travel is a UK specialist travel agency focused on tailor-made long-haul holidays with a strong personal-consultant model. It overlaps with Dawson & Sanderson's emphasis on expert-led, personalized holiday planning rather than self-service online booking.
- Co-op Travel: Co-op Travel is a UK retail travel agency chain operating through Co-operative Group branches offering package holidays, cruises, and tailored travel services — overlapping with Dawson & Sanderson's high-street retail travel model in the UK domestic market.
- Hays Travel: Hays Travel is the UK's largest independent travel agency, operating a multi-branch retail store network across the UK and using a similar commission-based retail model for package holidays, cruises, and tailored travel services — closely matching Dawson & Sanderson's go-to-market approach.
- Kuoni: Kuoni is a UK premium travel agency offering luxury holidays, honeymoons, and tailor-made worldwide travel. It operates as a high-end retail travel agency directly comparable to Dawson & Sanderson's luxury and worldwide segments.
- Travel Counsellors: Travel Counsellors is a UK home-based travel agent network using a multi-channel (online, phone, in-person) model to serve UK consumers with personalized booking support for package holidays, cruises, and tailored itineraries — directly comparable to Dawson & Sanderson's assisted-sales approach.
- Trailfinders: Trailfinders is a UK-based independent travel agency offering personalized travel consultation, package holidays, and worldwide travel services via retail stores and phone-based service — directly mirroring Dawson & Sanderson's multi-channel, expert-led model.
Emerging players
- Iglu Cruise: Iglu.com is a UK-based online cruise specialist and OTA selling cruises across major cruise lines. It competes with Dawson & Sanderson's cruise business through digital-first pricing and selection, while D&S counters with personalized service and multi-channel access.
Broad incumbents
- TUI UK: TUI UK is the largest integrated tour operator and airline in the UK with an extensive retail store network and broad package holiday and cruise offerings. It is both a core supplier to Dawson & Sanderson and a broader incumbent competing for the same customers through direct channels.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Dawson & Sanderson social profiles
Digital presenceDawson & Sanderson compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Dawson & Sanderson financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Dawson & Sanderson leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Dawson & Sanderson funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Dawson & Sanderson M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Dawson & Sanderson
What does Dawson & Sanderson do?
Dawson & Sanderson is a traditional retail travel agency that sells package holidays, cruise bookings, and touring holidays on behalf of multiple partner tour operators and cruise lines (including TUI, Jet2holidays, easyJet holidays, P&O Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, and others). Customers can purchase holidays through the agency's physical retail stores in the North of England, a dedicated phone booking line, or its e-commerce website, with all bookings financially protected under the ATOL scheme and ABTA membership.
Is Dawson & Sanderson a public or private company?
Dawson & Sanderson is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Dawson & Sanderson founded?
Dawson & Sanderson was founded in 1962. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Dawson & Sanderson based?
Dawson & Sanderson is headquartered in South Shields, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Dawson & Sanderson make money?
One revenue line is on record: holiday Package Sales Commission.
Who are Dawson & Sanderson's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Audley Travel, Co-op Travel, Hays Travel, Kuoni, Travel Counsellors and Trailfinders. Iglu Cruise is listed as an emerging player. TUI UK is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Dawson & Sanderson have an API?
No public API is recorded for Dawson & Sanderson.
What industry is Dawson & Sanderson in?
Dawson & Sanderson's product category is Travel Agency Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKABAF, Cruise Retail Travel Agencies, with a secondary code of THAEAFAA, Cruise Booking Platforms & OTAs. Its NAICS code is 561510.