TTAND opens first storefront location

The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND) has opened its first storefront location in Gravenhurst, by way of travel consultant Anne Devereaux, who officially opened the business shortly after the only other travel agency in the area closed down.

Devereaux joined the host agency in February 2015, looking to grow her home-based business using TTAND’s added support.

“I had heard a little about them, and talked to Flemming (Friisdahl, founder) several times over a month or so,” Devereaux told PAX. “I was so impressed with everything they had to offer as a host agency, I couldn't sign on fast enough.”

Devereaux has been a travel agent for about five years, after the paper mill where she worked ceased operations. “I had always been interested in travel and love doing the research, so I thought why not?” she said. “Plus, I love to vicariously through my clients that travel to destinations I have not [yet] visited.”

Now the only game in town, Devereaux’s agency is mostly office-based, although she does have a few clients that she works with from home.

Since the grand opening, she says the business has enjoyed “a huge response,” and continues to expand, having acquired the client list – and well-known consultant Kelly Gadon – from the previously existing agency.

“The move to a high traffic area has been hugely successful,” she said. “We kept the same [phone] number to try to minimize the loss of clients and I think that has helped. We have acquired new clients from other areas such as Parry Sound, Port Carling, Bracebridge, Newmarket, Orillia as well, just to name a few.”

Formerly known as Anne’s Travel, Devereaux has since renamed the agency to adopt TTAND’s branding, reasoning that it would be more recognizable to potential clients at a glance.

“Gravenhurst is a small town and I thought the TTAND name was fitting for the area,” she said. “The name has a very 'homey' slant.”