Surgical group launches travel agency to ‘streamline’ offering

Surgeons Quarter, the commercial arm of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, is launching an in-house travel agency to complement its events and conferences offering.

From left: Surgeons Quarter's travel manager Justin MacKenzie; MD Scott Mitchell; general manager Mark McKenzie; and revenue manager Jackie Hudson. Picture: Contributed

The venture, known as Surgeons Quarter Travel, will serve members of the public as well as conference delegates.

It will also organise flights, accommodation and transport for surgeons carrying out examinational work on behalf of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Former guest services manager Justin MacKenzie has transitioned from the group’s Ten Hill Place Hotel to head up the new agency. He will be joined by Caroline Massie and Lawrie King, formerly of Key Travel in Edinburgh.

Surgeons Quarter’s four venues host around 48,000 delegates at 2,000 events annually.

MD Scott Mitchell said: “Many of our surgeons travel frequently for exams and educational purposes – it makes sense to coordinate all of their travel and accommodation in a more streamlined way.

“We also have tens of thousands of delegates visiting our venues each year, so we can now provide a unique all-round service that will include transport to Edinburgh, accommodation and events.”

The Surgeons Quarter Travel team will be using systems provided by Hays Travel Independence Group and has undertaken in-depth training at the Hays Travel head office in Sunderland.