A travel agent from Weymouth has said she was honoured to make the shortlist for a prestigious national award.
Kelly Taylor, 45, is an independent travel agent who set up her own business, Taylor Made Travel, four years ago.
Having been a full time mum to her five kids for 18 years, she decided to pursue her own love of travelling to start a new career as a travel agent.
She became one of eight shortlisted out of hundreds nominees for Leisure Agent of The Year in Travel Weekly's Agent Achievement Awards, after being nominated by her head office The Holiday Village.
The awards recognise the work of agents and agencies across the UK and the award ceremony took place at Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in London this month,
It was hosted by Jordan North with Peter Andre among the special guests for the evening.
Kelly said the awards ceremony was a "fantastic night" and said while she didn't win, she is so happy to make the shortlist.
She said: "I felt like an imposter in the industry for some time but now I feel like I’ve earned my place, I have a loyal customer base growing all the time, I pride myself in doing the best job for my customers."
Kelly set up her business in 2020 just before lockdown. Despite the challenges her business has faced due to travel restrictions during the pandemic, she has not let this deter her from continuing to learn about the industry.
She added: "Luckily I used that time to educate myself, I immersed myself into all the suppliers education and completed my masters with CLIA cruise line international association, it was a good time to get my head around it all.
"I definitely came out and hit the ground running, things change daily in travel so everyday is a school day."
This news comes after another travel agent from Weymouth was shortlisted for a national award.
Amy Frost, 23, is a young travel consultant with Hays Travel and has been shortlisted for Apprentice of the Year at The Travel Industry Awards 2024.
READ MORE: Weymouth travel agent "over the moon" at being shortlisted for national award
The ceremony will also be held in London at a later date on Thursday, September 26.
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