Westbury-based travel agent Michael Eaves is celebrating after the company he is part of awarded - Travel Counsellors - was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise.

Mr Eaves runs his own home-based travel business as part of the leading independent travel company, which has now been awarded the UK’s highest accolade for business success.

The independent travel company, which has one of the highest scores in the world for client loyalty, received the award for International Trade having successfully brought its business model to overseas markets in Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Dubai and, most recently, Belgium.

Mr Eaves said: "I am thrilled the company has received this fantastic accolade.

"Our international expansion hugely benefits me and my clients as I have access to exclusive products and can draw on the local knowledge and support of fellow Travel Counsellors in eight countries across the globe, offering my clients a unique level of personal insight into travel destinations worldwide.

"Plus I have 24/7 support from our global offices, so my clients know I am always available to help them should they need it.”

The company, which now has 800 Travel Counsellors like Mr Eaves across the UK and a further 500 in its overseas operations, has experienced a growth of 120 per cent since its first overseas launch in Ireland nine years ago. 

Since joining the company in 2009, Mr Eaves has seen his leisure and corporate travel business go from strength to strength.

The award also follows Travel Counsellors being the first, and so far the only, UK travel agency to receive the Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2003, which recognised the company’s original and pioneering concept of enabling travel professionals such as Mr Eaves to work from home while supporting them from the company’s central head office in the UK, which now has over 200 staff and a further 60 in its overseas offices.

Mr Eaves said: "I am so proud to be part of a company that has received the Queen’s Award for a second time and that has grown globally because its clients trust the independent, expert, personalised travel advice we provide.

"I take the time to get to know my clients and their needs to find them the perfect trip that’s just right for them. My clients really appreciate the fact that I am always there for them should they need me, something they would not find by booking online, and they can be safe in the knowledge that their money is safe in the Travel Counsellors’ dedicated financial trust fund.”

Travel Counsellors continued success has also recently been recognised when the company was listed in the 2014 Sunday Times Profit Track earlier this month.

Mr Eaves can be contacted on 01373 888620 or email michael.eaves@travelcounsellors.com

The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are awarded to businesses for outstanding achievement in International Trade, Innovation and Sustainable Development, and are announced annually on April 21, The Queen’s birthday.