MP Damian Hinds and James Beagrie owner of Meon Valley Travel filmed an interview at the popular Petersfield Lake, following on from the agency’s win at the National TTG Top 50 Travel Agency awards.
Beagrie said: “Following the award, our group marketing manager Andrew Jones said the local MP has a big social media reach, and that we could piggyback on that. We sent a request for a meeting and we interviewed him, and he interviewed us.”
The video interview, posted to YouTube, was promoted through Hinds’ Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as his parliamentary office, generating “20,000-plus” views.
During the interview, Hinds said Meon Valley Travel was an interesting proposition on the high street, as it has an offering of leisure, business travel services, as well as emergency medical travel.
“People see the high street business, the holiday and leisure business, but would never know about all the other complexities of your operation that sit behind that,” said Hinds.
The MP revealed his holiday would be a road tour of England this year, but he was looking forward to getting abroad “before too long”.
In the interview James Beagrie comments that the business had been “hugely flattered” by the TTG award. “It’s a vote from our peers,” he said. He said the agency had “gone national” in its digital reach following the accolade, but stressed: “We want to make sure the locals know they have this award-winning service on their doorstep – so why should they go anywhere else?
“People have congratulated me when I have walked down the street. It’s reminded people we are open and on the business travel side – it’s reduced leakage from our corporate clients.”
During the pandemic, Meon Valley Travel has increased its marketing team from two to five, having asked itself: “Do we flee, or do we fight?”. “The only thing we have to look after is our reputation because we can’t look after the bank balance,” Beagrie said.
He predicted the agency sector would emerge “stronger and more dynamic” after the pandemic, adding agents had proved their worth during the crisis – particularly on the financial protection side. “Who would have imagined a year ago the safest place to put your money would have been with a travel agent?” he said.
High Resolution Photos: Image Catalogue
Andrew Jones – Group Marketing Manager
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