

Wed 23 / 04 / 25
Meet Cecily English
Say hello to Cecily English - Chamber member and personal travel consultant based in Hove. She shares some of her top spots, what's been popular recently and her new supper club.
By Hannah Withey of Brighton Chamber
Hi Cecily! Can you tell us a bit about who you are and what you do?
Hi! I am a personal travel consultant based in Hove. My job is to find the perfect holiday for my customers. Adding a personal touch, I start with a conversation about what they are looking for and then spend time curating an itinerary that meets their needs.
For some people, they are incredibly clear on what they want and I can relieve them of the administrative side of booking a holiday. For others, it might be that they have started looking, but the sheer amount of choice is overwhelming; then I can take that stress away and narrow down the options to something spectacular.
You used to work in education – what inspired your career switch?
I really love education, and it will always hold a place in my heart. However, sometimes you need to find a new direction and travel consulting allows me to play to my strengths; I love working with people and finding solutions to problems. You’d be surprised at the crossover of skills between teaching and travel. A lot of it is thinking about the short and long term goals, thinking about the objectives and how you’re going to get there. Also, let’s be honest, travel is one of the best ways to learn about the world. So if you’re going to get an education, it may as well be hands on!
Are there any travel trends or popular destinations you’re seeing for this year?
So it’s not new necessarily, but I receive a lot of enquiries for Thailand, looking for the more remote areas to visit. In fact, going “off-the-beaten-track" continues to increase in popularity. People are looking for unique stays, bespoke hotels, anything that makes their holiday stand out from the norm. Obviously there are some really popular TV shows at the moment which showcase the luxury resort, and that’s driven people’s interest in where to go next. There are also more routes opening up to places like Cape Verde which is very exciting.
What’s your most under-rated holiday spot? (If it’s not too top secret!)
Haha, that would be telling! I guess the secret is looking at a popular resort and finding out what’s two stops down the trainline; especially in popular European hotspots like Italy; Florence may be great, but Lucca is just as stunning and not too far away. Speaking of which, my favourite discovery is Viareggio on the Tuscan coastline. It’s a gorgeous beach with a stylish promenade. It has a festival every year and is incredibly vibrant and charming.
You also run Cecily’s Wanderlust Supper Club – what sparked the idea for setting it up?
I am incredibly excited about the supper club. The idea came when thinking about the essence of travel; it is all about storytelling. When you meet up with your friends after a holiday, you’re not interested in telling them about the room and board options, or what flight time you selected. You want to tell them about the amazing tapas bar you found, or the street food you discovered. You laugh about mishaps when you got on the wrong bus or the amazing secluded square you stumbled upon.
Travel is a multisensory experience and people love sharing those connections. For me, food is a huge part of my decision making when looking at destinations and I know a lot of people combine their love of gastronomy and travel. So it made sense to create an opportunity to find likeminded people and indulge in good food whilst swapping tales!
And finally, where’s next on your travel list?
I’m a huge fan of a city break and have Madrid booked for the end of April. I then have a family holiday to the Algarve in June coming up. It’ll be quite different, with a much more relaxed pace. However, we often rent a car so we can do a bit of exploring during the day. After that, I haven’t decided yet; the trouble with organising other people’s holidays is that my wishlist keeps growing!
Cecily English is a personal travel consultant - find out more and get in touch here.
If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk