THERE is more to Guernsey than the finance industry, according to the co-founder of Wayfarers World Travel Ltd. Mike Goddard said the growth of his business proved you did not have to be part of the banking sector to be a success.
‘We want to tell people that it’s not only finance that is doing well in Guernsey - this island is about more than that,’ he said.
‘We are an alternative employer to the finance industry and that means we are bringing jobs to Guernsey.
‘We are the only company to take travel students straight from the College of Further Education.
‘We’ve taken four so far and if we didn’t, where else would they go?’
Established in 1987, Wayfarers was started by Mike and his wife, Val, who both lacked any
experience other than a keen interest in the travel industry.
They have gone from having two staff to 31, five of whom were recruited during the last year alone.
Seven years ago, Wayfarers recognised the need to build a successful internet presence if
it was to compete in such a
fast-changing marketplace - a
challenge that was wholly embraced.
Just the Flight went online in 2000 and now sells about 270 tickets a day, generating at least 60% of the total business.
It has also been consistently ranked within the top 50 British travel websites.
‘The name for the website came about from a conversation I had with a customer,’ said Mr Goddard.
‘I asked her if she wanted me to sort out a hotel and car hire and she replied, ﾓno thanks, just the flightﾔ.
‘I couldn’t believe my luck when I discovered that no one had already registered the name.
‘We decided to offer just flights on the web because to create a site that did just that was relatively simple and cost-effective.
‘To do one with all extras was far more expensive, although anything’s a possibility for the future.’
Never far from innovation, Wayfarers introduced an automated ticketing and e-travel
system - a fast service that allowed staff to spend more time answering customer queries and providing travel solutions.
Innovations are regularly being introduced, such as third man technology to combat card fraud and protect customers.
Another relatively new dimension to the business is the States Travel Service - an integration of all fares out of Guernsey to ensure politicians and civil servants get the cheapest possible tickets.
The service has an annual budget of £1.3m. and Wayfarers has created a yearly saving of £90,000 for the government.
‘You might expect having a middle man like us involved would increase the price, but in fact we are able to negotiate the best deals and save the States money,’ said Mr Goddard.
Regular diversification and thinking outside the box are working for the company - sales have increased by more than 100% in the last three years and turnover for 2007 was £24m.
Wayfarers made it into the final three for best medium business at the Awards for Achievement and was nominated for best travel website at the 2003 London Travel Awards.
In June 2007 the company was bought out by the Isle of Man-based Online Regional Travel Group, allowing Mr Goddard and his wife to retire, although he remains with the business in a advisory role.
‘We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved and we hope that the awards brought that to people’s attention,’ he said.
‘People think we’re just a little travel shop on the Bridge, but the fact is that we’re much more than that.’
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