Co-owner Gillian Polyhos said XXL the company had just hired another member of staff for the new store, where she and business partner Jo Edwards also plan to create an opportunity for a younger person “willing to travel”.

The team will be joined by Betty and James from series four of Race Across the World for the official opening of the Bingley store on Saturday 2 November.

Polyhos said that after the difficult decision to close the Barrowford store, the time was right to expand the agency’s presence for a second time. “We didn’t want to rush – we needed to focus on getting Crosshills back to where it was (post-Covid),” she explained.

Bingley, she continued, had several travel agencies – including a branch of Going Places where she once worked – but these had all closed 10 to 15 years ago.

“This is an area we have studied over the years,” Polyhos said. “The town has really regenerated. The demographics are quite different – ​​it’s a town rather than a small village, so the coverage area is a bit wider than what we have here (Crosshills). In fact, we already have a few customers in Crosshills of Bingley.

“We are redeploying a member of the team to the Bingley branch, which will have four offices. Hopefully they will all be filled.”

Regarding Olive Lounge’s work-from-home business, Polyhos said it had been “slowly developed” over the past two years, with consultants working purely on a commission basis.

“There has been a huge growth in the number of agencies recruiting home-based workers,” Polyhos said. “It’s a great industry, and a lot of people want to be a part of it. We train with them every Monday – we don’t just hire people and let them get on with it. We really support them.”

Another major development for the company are plans for its first internal conference, which will be held in Marrakech and is supported by Moroccan tourism authorities in the UK.

Polyhos said the initiative grew out of the agency team’s Christmas trips to countries including Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, and a trip she organized for a staff member earlier this year to Agadir .

“This will be an opportunity to learn and prepare for the peak booking period after Christmas,” she added. “Morocco is booming, and it’s a region where a lot of team members haven’t been. With Jet2holidays starting up there with new routes, it was the right fit for us.”