When Dave Leyshon set up DTL Travel, he always hoped sport would become a cornerstone of his business.

Seven years on, that aspiration has evolved into bookings worth hundreds of thousands of pounds each year – and Leyshon insists his successes can be replicated by any agency willing to graft.

The business now books between five and six rugby tours a year for local clubs, with bookings typically running to anything from £18,000 and £32,000.

That equates to around £90,000 to £192,000 in annual sales from rugby tours alone, before football groups and other sports business are taken into account. 

And that pipeline is only growing. "These numbers will double next year," Leyshon tells TTG. "That's coming only from referrals. People recommend us and other clubs get in touch."

The agency has also recently secured a football tour worth more than £30,000, again, through word-of-mouth recommendations rather than active sales.

"I don’t really go looking for business," he says. "I wait for people to come to me."

'Once you get that first booking, the rest come quickly'

That referral network stems from Leyshon's own involvement in Welsh rugby having played – non-professionally – for local clubs.

He focused on becoming part of Beddau RFC's wider community; sponsoring players and local teams, attending matches, sharing club events on social media, and supporting fundraising initiatives.

"It's about slowly building the relationships you want," he explains. "After I secured that first booking, the sponsorship money was immediately paid off and they became a repeat client and key referrer."

That trust has translated into repeat business across multiple age groups, from under-16 sides to senior teams.

Among the agency's largest bookings was a 74-person rugby tour to Cape Town in 2023 with Beddau RFC, while future itineraries include local youth team trips to Spain and France.

Leyshon's portfolio stretches back to some of the biggest sporting events in recent years, including taking around 20 supporters to the Rugby World Cup in Japan before arranging travel for almost 60 Wales fans during the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

DTL Travel

Yet Leyshon is keen to stress that sport is only one part of DTL Travel's offering. The agency also sells cruises, tailor-made holidays, luxury travel, UK breaks and coach holidays, with Japan currently proving unexpectedly popular following a surge in enquiries this month.

Still, the sports niche has provided valuable lessons that any independent agent could apply. "You've got to have knowledge in your niche, and build trust in that community,” he says. "You also have to make sure your packages are affordable and tailored to the client's budget and requirements."

Patience, he adds, is equally important. Group bookings involve passenger numbers, budgets and requirements that can change at the drop of a hat, but flexibility is what keeps clients returning. "Patience should come with the job, because showing your clients understanding goes a long way," he advises.

His advice for agents hoping to develop their own specialism is to become embedded in a community where they already have credibility. "You've got to get in the room and network," he says. "That's how any good thing starts."

For Leyshon, those local relationships have become one of the agency's biggest commercial assets – now a repeat business worth well into six figures, with growth still to come.