Bury St Edmunds travel agent Kimberle is in the running for a natinal award.

A travel agent from Bury St Edmunds has been shortlisted as a finalist in the UK’s most prestigious travel industry awards.

Kimberle Montano, from Premier Travel, is in the running for Leisure Agent of the Year in the 2018 Agent Achievement Awards, which honours the best travel agents in the UK.

She will go up against five other travel consultants from across the country at the awards ceremony in July.

Ms Montano has been part of Premier Travel’s Bury branch since the shop opened in the town’s Buttermarket in 2015. She previously worked at Premier Travel in Bishop’s Stortford for a number of years before taking a break from travel, returning to the firm three years ago to help get its new branch in Bury off the ground.

She caught the judges’ attention after becoming involved in numerous activities over the past year to promote the Bury St Edmunds branch in the community, including organising local events at the Arc shopping centre, attending networking meetings and representing the shop at wedding fairs.

Ms Montano said: “I love working in travel and helping people book and plan their dream holiday, which is why I’ve been doing this job for so many years. Many of my customers call me their ‘fairy godmother’ as they say I make their wishes come true. The Agent Achievement Awards are the benchmark for excellence in the UK travel trade, so to be recognised is brilliant for myself and the team as whole.”

Denice Sapsford branch manager, added: “Kimberle is well known in the local community for her dedication and top-notch customer service. A huge number of our regulars went out of their way to write and record customer testimonials to help get Kimberle shortlisted for the travel agent of the year award.”