Matt Spiller to leave Inside Travel Group after 14 years at Asia travel specialist.
Matt Spiller to leave Inside Travel Group after 14 years at Asia travel specialist.
Inside Travel Group – parent group of InsideJapan and InsideAsia Tours – has announced that long-serving Trade Manager, Matt Spiller, is to leave the company.
Having joined InsideJapan in 2009 as the only trade-facing travel consultant, to becoming Inside Travel Group’s UK-based Trade Manager in 2013, Spiller has played a key part in the company’s trade sales growth. Over the last fourteen years, travel agent annual sales have grown from approximately £250k to over £8million in business.
Matt Spiller said, “When I joined InsideJapan, I never thought that I would be there for the next 14 years. It is a special company full of incredibly talented people and I am grateful to Alastair and Simon for letting me be part of its phenomenal growth.”
Like many of the staff at (the then much smaller) InsideJapan Tours, Spiller joined the company having lived in Japan for several years and was keen to share cultural insight, experiences, and the passion for a country that was considered still very niche.
“I am immensely proud of what we have done together at InsideJapan and Inside Travel Group. It was once a hard sell for many agents, but Japan has very much become a top destination and we are firm ‘go-to’ suppliers for many of the UK’s top travel agents; Indeed, InsideJapan has become the world’s leading independent Japan travel specialist with trade partners playing a pivotal role in that success. InsideAsia has also seen tremendous success with trade partners, specialising in travel across Southeast Asia since its launch in 2013,” added Spiller.
Although Spiller’s move may come as a surprise to many, he has confirmed that he will remain within the travel industry and joining, Small Luxury Hotels of the World as the Trade Marketing & Community Manager.
“I have loved my time at Inside Travel Group, but after fourteen years, it is time for a new challenge. I am excited to be joining the SLH team in London and can’t wait to assist in strengthening their trade community relationships. I will of course continue to be one of Inside Travel Group’s biggest fans,” added Spiller.
Company Co-founder and Directors, Alastair Donnelly, and Simon King are keen to highlight that the company remains fully committed to the trade and recognise it as crucial to the continued success of the tour operator.
King commented, “We continue to improve what we do in Japan, are providing incredible holidays across Southeast Asia, more recently introducing the likes of Thailand and Malaysia, and have created brand new cultural adventures into South Korea,”
He added, “Although we are sad to see Matt go, he has done an incredible job over the years, built some great relationships and helped establish us as a trade favourite. We look to invest in our travel trade team immediately with travel agent partners remaining an essential pillar of Inside Travel Group’s growth strategy.” InsideJapan recently announced that after 2.5 years of closed borders, that this cherry blossom season is likely to be its busiest year ever.
Inside Travel Group are recruiting for a new Trade Manager to oversee this next phase in the company’s growth and continue to grow the Trade Team in the UK. The vacancy details can be found on Inside Travel Group and InsideJapan Tours websites.
