just for groups!

I developed a love for travel after my first holiday abroad to Cyprus and initially dreamed of being an air hostess. I studied Travel and Tourism at college and was turned away from several businesses after completing the course to finally be offered a position within Going Places. I thoroughly enjoyed working there and eventually built up a fairly large client base who would patiently wait for me to be available whilst I was working with other clients for a few hours to ensure I located their dream holiday. I progressed onto Cosmos Holidays to a Commercial and Yield Executive and only departed due to moving from London to Norfolk. I was delighted after five years with another business in Norfolk to finally be offered a position within the Just for Groups! department to be returning to the Travel industry.

I started my career at a small chain of independent Travel Agents based in East Anglia, working my way up the ladder to Assistant Manager. Sadly they went into administration but I soon found my way back into the travel sector when I joined just for groups!. I really enjoy my role here and I have made great progress looking after many of the groups we assist by creating tailor-made holidays for them. I deal with all types of groups which include U3A’s, Active Retirement Associations and National Trust groups.

I have 25 years of customer experience, and for 12 of those years I worked as an overseas Travel Rep/Team Leader for TUI, before I settled in Norfolk in 2018. I am passionate about travel, and was eager to continue my work in the industry, so I joined the Reservations team here at The UK Holiday Group in 2019, before finding my feet with Just for Groups! in 2021. Now I work closely with the rest of the group team to ensure the administration is all up-to-date and assist with the smooth operation of the business to ensure our customers get a first-class service.

I am the company’s first ever, and longest standing, employee! I joined in 1984 when we were just Grand UK Holidays and worked with highly motivated and entertaining individuals thriving to provide the perfect holiday experience for their customers. I have gained so much experience over the years and faced many exciting challenges as a member of Just for Groups! sales team, preparing ‘tailor-made’ holidays for a wide variety of groups taking them to destinations all over the world.

I have enjoyed a very varied career in the travel and tourism industry, incorporating retail travel, business travel, conference venue finding and management at Glaxo and tourist information for the ‘Fine City’ of Norwich. On a personal level I love to plan, travel, and explore, to discover a hidden gem and revisit favourite places and have been fortunate to have lived in various locations in England, in Germany and Australia. Working for just for groups! I love being able to help and share my passion and experience, creating tailor made holidays specifically to suit the groups requirements.

I cut my teeth in the travel industry as a Tour Manager back in the 1980s with Wallace Arnold Coach Tours and subsequently Frames National Tours, taking incoming visitors on tours of Europe. As an Italian speaker I covered much of Italy from North to South. In those days tours ran back-to-back and were always fully loaded. For many, European travel was a new experience, and was seen as a great adventure. There were no en-suite bathrooms, no choice of menu at hotels, no Euro, and no-one ever complained! My winter seasons were spent skiing in Austria with Inghams Lakes & Mountains, for whom I worked as a Resort Manager. To this day Austria and Italy remain my favourite holiday destinations, besides Switzerland, Cyprus and the Greek Islands.