A well known North Ayrshire travel business has seen one of its leading lights put forward for a prestigious award.

Shona Thorne, managing director of Thorne Travel, which has high street in Kilwinning and Largs, have been nominated and is a finalist for the Business of the Year category at the Scottish Women's Awards 2023.

After completing her honours degree at university, Shona decided to change careers with a large travel company who were expanding into Glasgow.

This provided great opportunities and allowed my passion for travel and adventure to grow.

She went on to work in various customer service and senior management roles for some of the UK’s largest travel companies, but her dream was always to own and operate her own travel agency. In 2009, that dream became a reality when Shona established Thorne Travel in Kilwinning- and in recent years, it has expanded to Largs.

Shona’s mission was simple - she wanted to specialise in providing quality holidays at great prices, combined with outstanding customer service.  

This proved to be a recipe for success and the business has steadily grown over the years, creating employment opportunities for local people and supporting other local businesses wherever possible. 

Shona said: "I am exceptionally proud of the team here at Thorne Travel. They are a great bunch of people who work really hard to deliver quality holidays at great prices for our amazing customers."

A spokesperson for Thorne Travel said: "We are absolutely thrilled to share that our Managing Director, Shona Thorne, has been nominated and is a finalist for the Business of the Year category at the Scottish Women's Awards 2023. 

"Those who know Shona will understand that she is a humble person who prefers to promote the incredible work of our team rather than draw attention to herself.

"We are proud to see her receive this well deserved recognition."