Inside Travel Group will look to build upon its travel trade footprint with the appointment of Tom Welland to the role of Global Trade Marketing Manager.
The latest edition to its trade team, Welland joins Inside Travel Group after a stint at UK ski holiday company Heidi.
“I am so excited to join Inside Travel Group and am looking forward to supporting our trade partners in achieving their growth goals,” he says.
“This company already has an incredible reputation in terms of its product and service, but my role here is to make it even easier for our trade partners to sell InsideJapan and InsideAsia trips.
“During my time at Heidi, I supported the company in the best-performing season to date and I intend to do that on a bigger scale here at Inside Travel Group.”
With two specialist travel brands, InsideJapan and InsideAsia, the B Corp company says business is booming – and much of that success comes down to travel trade bookings.
“Tom will play an important role alongside our BDM’s and the magnificent team of specialist consultants we have at Inside Travel Group,” Head of Trade Gabo Quiros said.
“In 2024, we have seen record sales months for trade with an approximately 30 per cent increase on 2023, with trade business representing 40 per cent of overall business – and with Tom’s help, we look to continue growing partnerships and driving growth together with them.
“Our travel agent partners are integral to our success.”
Top performers
InsideJapan and InsideAsia have experienced a surge in business so far in 2024, with the latter reporting a whopping 175 per cent increase in bookings compared to 2023.
With nearly half (48 per cent) of all bookings this year, Korea has emerged as the fastest-growing destination.
Meanwhile, the rise in trips to Japan aligns with a record month of overall travel to the Asian nation in March, as the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) reports.
Last week, new data released by the JNTO showed Aussie traveller numbers to Japan rose by 46.3 per cent between January and March – from 172,896 in Q1 2019 to 252,900 in Q1 2024, with Australia well on track for a record year of travel to the country.
