Barrhead Travel has achieved another record-breaking year, and is eyeing growth for 2025 as consumers continue to prioritise holidays despite the pressures of paying their household bills.
The Glasgow-headquartered travel agency group last year celebrated 12 consecutive record-breaking months and has exceeded sales every month in 2024.
Barrhead Travel will close this year with a 13% increase in sales compared to 2023 which was previously the company’s best year. The firm says forward bookings for 2025 are ahead of the same period last year.
Last-minute bookings were a notable feature of the group’s holiday sales as the poor summer weather encouraged spontaneous breaks. All inclusive holidays remained the number one holiday type while cruise bookings also grew in popularity – particularly river cruising where sales increased by 43%.
Holiday duration was on the rise with breaks for 10 nights or longer accounting for more than 50% of bookings – something that the travel group says is reflective of people’s desire to make the most of their annual leave.
Jacqueline Dobson, president at Barrhead Travel, said: “Across the country, spend on holidays is being ring-fenced, and we see our customers taking more frequent and longer breaks.
“With multi-generational and group bookings on the rise, it’s clear that people are using their holidays to spend time with those who mean the most to them.
“As we look to the year ahead, we’re expecting another strong year for travel.
“We’re also doubling down on our commitment to our colleagues and our communities with further investments earmarked for training as well as potential new store openings.”
The group has invested in a number of store refurbishments and earlier this month launched its second outlet in Northern Ireland.
Training and development were priorities for the business with the launch of its Development Academy.
