It takes a special kind of business to be named Top Travel Agency in Wales for three consecutive years, yet La Vida Travel has done just that. Now, the store has taken its wins one step further and swiped the trophy for being the very best agency in the whole of the British Isles.

The Newport-based team of 13 spare clients from lifting a finger from the moment they walk in the door right through to their return home after their beach break, touring adventure, city escape, ski getaway or cruise – because there isn’t a holiday these conscientious agents can’t plan. In 2024, the agency’s 12th year in operation, owner Karen Marin Reyes and manager Lisa Miles (who both have more than 30 years of experience in selling travel) spearheaded the addition of surprise proposal planning to the team’s repertoire, as well as a new “wedding room” scheme. They’ve curated more than 20 proposals so far, complete with bubbly, a picnic and photographer at romantic locations including a private beach in Thailand, a Croatian cave restaurant and even a mountain top overlooking a fjord. Then, should a couple wish to book their wedding through La Vida Travel, they’ll benefit from treat boxes, VIP lounge passes and even a Marco Pierre White afternoon tea – depending on how many guest rooms they add. It seems love is always in the air around the cheerful team at La Vida Travel, which during TTG’s visit was adorned with heart-shaped bunting and red balloons in celebration of Valentine’s Day. In fact, every customer who made a booking over the festive weekend received a bottle of bubbly and two flutes. 

But gifts aren’t limited to seasonal celebrations – a “random acts of kindness” initiative sees La Vida Travel deliver flowers if a client falls ill or has lost a relative. The agents gift flowers frequently for customers’ birthdays, hampers for repeat bookers and baby gifts when a client expands their family. The agency even covered the cost of EuroDisney tickets for a grandmother who didn’t have the funds to join her family holiday, and the business donates to numerous causes spanning cancer care, managing motor-neurone diseases, stillbirth and cardiology charities, sports clubs and local schools. So strong is La Vida Travel’s commitment to the community that in the past two years it’s raised more than £28,000 for charity. The team have also upped their sustainability game with tree planting for newlyweds and newborns, plus honeymoon tickets printed on seeded paper and enrolling two agents in Abta’s sustainability training course. 

On the rare occasions last year when the La Vida team weren’t busy supporting the local community or making clients feel like royalty, they were busy enhancing their technology, expanding their reach, attending 59 supplier training events, completing 31 product training courses and taking 12 familiarisation trips to ensure their travel knowledge remains the best it can possibly be. Utilising a graphic design platform has allowed them to design eye-catching social media posts, build smart email templates and create branded e-vouchers for clients who want to surprise a loved one. They’ve also been hosting numerous customer events to drive sales, using QR codes on printed marketing to make engagement seamless, collaborating with BBC Radio Wales and, for the first time, they placed a six-month advertising campaign at a nearby train station, which resulted in a £14,000 booking within days of launch. It’s clear these savvy strategies have paid off, as La Vida Travel has seen a 40% increase in its email database in the past 12 months, while an in-store event with Gold Medal and Yas Island saw a 70% return in bookings. Not to mention their Jet2holidays incentive on social media that saw them book 252 passengers and increase their sales for the operator 8% year-on-year! So it’s no surprise January 2025 was the best revenue month in La Vida history. 

And yet Karen and Lisa still find time to take on apprentices, reward staff with extra time off, gifts, vouchers, lunches, hotel stays and even an annual end-of-year team getaway to surprise destinations that in the past have included Barcelona, Dublin and Disneyland Paris. Keeping staff happy means keeping customers happy – and there’s no doubt La Vida Travel being crowned the UK & Ireland’s No.1 Agency will mean smiles all round. 

lavidatravel.co.uk