Shakeel Ahmed, who owns 7 Seas Holidays travel agents in Surbiton, has "always loved travel" and initially wanted to be a pilot, but unfortunately had to give up on that dream as he lost his father at a very young age.

However, still wanting to pursue a travel-related career, Ahmed got his first job in the travel industry in 1992 in Hyderabad India.

"Travel is my hobby and my passion," Ahmed said.

He started as a Travel Consultant in his home country before having the opportunity to work for Gulf Air, a travel management company in the Middle East.

Ahmed then moved to the UK in 2006 where he worked for a travel company in East London.

This was when the businessman realized that there was a "good opportunity" to start his own travel agency in the UK,

Thus, Ahmed started  7 Seas Holidays in Wandsworth.

7 Seas Holidays' Surbiton office is located at 45 Victoria Road, Surbiton, KT6 4JL (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

In an exclusive interview with Nub News, the travel agent explained that he wanted to open his own travel agents because "There are a lot of problems in the travel industry, a lot of frauds take place".

He added: "So, then he thought, why not have start a travel business where he can give a very good service to clients, especially as he had broad experience and have internationally traveled to many destinations.

"So, instead of just doing a nine to five job, particularly as in this industry clients need 24/7 support as when clients are abroad, they sometimes need an extension of their trip, or something goes up and down, or they need to do some modification to their travel, I thought I should start a business which offers that – a business where there is someone to listen 24/7 - it's a service industry."

However, having grown up and started his career in the industry in India, Ahmed had to train himself for six months to learn the rules and regulations of the travel industry in the UK.

From his training, Ahmed learnt how to make his business ATOL protected.

He said: Today, our business has been running for 19 years, and it is well established."

7 Seas Holidays is a member of the Elite Travel Group, which allows it to specifically tailor its packages to its clients needs and to offer packages to many destinations across the world.

The travel agents has also won various awards, including TTG's top 50 travel companies in 2022 and the International Travel Award in 2024. It has also been shortlisted among seven other businesses for the Wandsworth Business Award.

Ahmed says that 7 Seas Holidays has "really good" Google reviews and trust pilot reviews too.

7 Seas Holidays has won various awards (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

He added: "A lot of people who travel with us give very good feedback and they support us by spreading our name to their family and friends. So, this is what the journey is all about."

Should his business continue to remain successful, Ahmed says he plans to open another office outside of London next year.

7 Seas Holidays is a family run business (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

He says that his travel agency "is not competing with online businesses" as online travel companies "don't give you a personal life service".

Ahmed continued: "We believe that every traveler will require a personalised service with a real life travel agent. There are a lot of travel companies who have gone offline, but when you book with them, if you need any sort of help while abroad, you hardly get support.

"But working with any travel company who has a physical presence, clients will be happy to deal with somebody who they know and who can speak to them and they can deal with them if there are any issues, like, for example, the recent hurricane in Jamaica.

"We helped many of our clients postpone their travels while the hurricane was happening so they didn't lose any money, but you will not get this kind of service if you book online.

"We like to help make our clients feel relaxed and comfortable in these situations."

With the Surbiton branch approaching its one-year anniversary, Ahmed said: "Thanks to all of our clients and well wishers who supported us for this particular year in 2025. We look forward to 2026 and 2027.

"We have 2026 & 2027 holidays and cruises which you can now book for with a minimum deposits."

One of Ahmed's clients, who has been booking trips with 7 Seas Holidays for ten years, says that she continuously returns to Ahmed's business because he is "very good" and very reliable".

7 Seas Holidays has a variety of tour packages to offer, ranging from escorted tours to honeymoon destinations, to city breaks.

7Seas Holidays is one of our lovely sponsors. 

If you're interested in booking a trip with 7 Seas Holidays or just want to find out a bit more about what's on offer, just fill in your details below and they'll be in touch!