A TRAVEL giant has chosen Bury as the pitch for its new company to bring a new range of holiday homes to the campsite market.

Up to 50 staff will be employed at the newly-launched Thomson Al Fresco during the high season.

The company , based at offices at Balmoral House, Hollins Brook Way, is spearheading the new range of quality holiday home accommodation, the majority of which will be based in France.

By April, Thomson Al Fresco will operate 24 holiday parcs in France, Spain and Italy. Three different holiday home models are available, ranging from two- to three-bedrooms which can sleep a maximum of six.

At present, Thomson Al Fresco employs a 14-strong staff at its Bury headquarters. But this figure will increase significantly during the main holiday booking period.

The company is led by Bolton-born Mr John Whitaker, formerly finance director of EuroSites. He has a wealth of travel industry experience and, in particular, an in-depth knowledge of the camping and active holiday markets.

"We're delighted to be in Bury," he said. "We're in the same building as Sky Deals which is part of the same division.

"One of the reasons why we established the new company here was that quite a few of us live locally. It's a good location."

Balmoral House embraces Thomson Al Fresco's call and administration centres. Customers can book their holiday homes direct through travel agents nationwide.

Mr Whitaker (37), is delighted to be at the helm of Al Fresco. "It's a very exciting and very busy time for us. Camping is hundreds of years old but today camp sites are more like parc complexes, complete with swimming pools. Camp holidays now are more of a summer leisure activity."

His experience in the holiday industry includes ten years with My Travel and a thorough background in the financial side of the industry.

Part of his remit will be to appraise each of the camp sites to ensure they meet quality requirements. Thomson Al Fresco is linked to the TUI UK's Specialist Holiday Group.

"This is a big operation. The business is filling what was a gap in their portfolio of companies," added Mr Whitaker.