Former Thomas Cook manager joins Not Just Travel to spearhead trade recruitment drive

Katrina Latimer is tasked with recruiting experienced travel consultants for the franchise’s new trade homeworking division

As part of its ongoing expansion, Not Just Travel has appointed Katrina Latimer as head of trade and homeworking.

Bringing with her more than 25 years of experience within the travel industry, Latimer’s main focus is recruiting homeworkers who already have valuable travel experience and are currently working within the industry.

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With around 700 travel consultants already having set up their own businesses (via Not Just Travel’s recruitment arm The Travel Franchise), Not Just Travel is now the second-largest travel homeworking company in the UK.

This new division is set to accelerate this growth even further and faster. Paul Harrison, Not Just Travel co-founder, said: “Up until now we’ve predominantly recruited and intensely trained the ‘man-off-the-street’ transforming them into successful travel consultants; imagine what we can do if we take experienced agents and ignite their entrepreneurial potential, making them into highly successful business owners.

“Katrina is the perfect person to spearhead this new strategic approach because she understands the industry inside out and brings with her years of experience of having worked with both agents and suppliers.

“Being so well-respected in the industry, she comes with a huge amount of authority and credibility.”

Most recently as trade partnership manager at Thomas Cook, Latimer has been a key player in the industry having started her career at ILG, Sunworld and then 14 years at First Choice, followed by seven years with TUI.

Talking about her appointment, Latimer said: “I am very excited to join a company that offers such huge untapped potential. It’s still young, yet it has achieved so much and I’d like to be part of that more strategic growth.

“One thing we can all learn from the Thomas Cook demise is that a job is not a guarantee of security. The landscape has changed and it’s going to be in a state of flux for years to come. Increasingly, the only way to take control of your career and create the lifestyle you want is to work for yourself. With the depth of knowledge that agents out there have, married with the support and training that Not Just Travel offers, setting up on their own is a step that I think many agents should consider.”

New recruits will get the same level of training that current consultants enjoy, yet the emphasis will focus more on marketing and business acumen as opposed to teaching them about travel.

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