Globetrotter Johnny Parker is back home in Swansea after 11 years jetting around the world – but travel is still in his blood and he’s making holiday dreams come true.
The 30-year-old from Hafod, Swansea, is the manager of the Virgin Holidays store which opened recently in Debenhams in the city’s busy Quadrant Centre.
It has created four new jobs and is the first Virgin Holidays shop in Swansea and only the third in Wales.
Johnny said: “While some areas of the travel business are finding life difficult Virgin Holidays are going from strength to strength and are a massive success.
“We cater for high quality long-haul and cruise holidays and have opened over 90 stores in the UK and plan to open even more by the end of the year.
“Virgin Holidays is a massive success story and we’ve done very well since we started a month ago.
Ian Kirkpatrick, Acting Manager of the Quadrant Centre, said: “It’s great to have a new store opening here in the Quadrant and when the weather is chilly it’s nice to think of holidays in warmer climes.
“Johnny certainly brings a wealth of experience to the business and the presence of Virgin Holidays adds to the retail mix we have here at the Quadrant.”
Johnny started in the travel business with Thomas Cook at 19 as a holiday rep and rose to become a destination manager, working in such far-flung and glamorous places as India, the Caribbean and Africa.
In India, based in Goa, he headed a team of 50 staff and covered the whole country, organising holidays not just in Goa but to the rest of that vast country as well.
He said: “I loved India. It’s the cheapest place in the world, the people are lovely and the food is amazing, it’s to die for.
“But the Caribbean is my favourite place now. The weather is fantastic, the beaches are great, the food is exotic and the people really know how to relax which is perfect for a holiday.”
Johnny heads up a team of four with over 40 years travel experience and he said: “There’s no substitute for firsthand knowledge of a country and what it has to offer.
“I’ve spent 11 years abroad in a variety of different countries on different continents and we all have a background in the travel industry and that expertise added to Virgin Holidays high reputation has helped us be successful and we’ve been really busy already this year.
“We like the challenge of creating tailor-made holidays and we positively encourage people to challenge us by asking for multi-centre holidays or incorporating different activities.
“We can do just about anything you want but people are much more adventurous now and they can come up with some unusual request but we are the Jim’ll Fix It’s of the business.
“There is a trend for people to want to do something different with weddings and so we work with them and with the resorts to make their dreams come true but if you want to do something like that it’s best to do it with a brand you know .
“Elsewhere there’s still massive interest in cruising and in the USA but the real up and coming destinations are Hong Kong and the Far East, particularly Thailand.”
Johnny is glad to be back home in Swansea but he’ll still do his fair share of travelling: “I still expect to go abroad at least four times a year to keep up with what’s happening.
“Where’s next? It will be in April and it’s either going to be South Africa or New York – I don’t know which yet.”
