Virgin Holidays is to open three new retail outlets in Scotland following the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red services to Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Two new 500sq foot concessions will open in the Tesco superstore, Broughton, and Debenhams in East Kilbride, in addition to a stand-alone shop in Edinburgh city centre.
The operator currently has shops in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling and Silverburn, and the new store openings will create 15 new jobs and three apprenticeships.
Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural Little Red flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh landed on Monday morning, with flights also launching to Aberdeen and Manchester.
Amanda Wills, Virgin Holidays managing director, said: “We’re really pleased to be increasing our Scottish retail presence by another 60%, it’s a real indication of how much we value our customers here. The fact that the frequency of Virgin Atlantic flights has increased almost tenfold since 2007 shows that holidays are clearly something the public here consider a must-do, and it’s great they’re choosing to travel with us in ever increasing numbers.”
She added: “We’ve got some long-standing and highly valued relationships with key travel agency partners in Scotland, and hope they will welcome this addition to the regional travel landscape. For us, it is about contributing to the level of choice and value our customers tell us they want when considering their holiday options.”
Virgin Holidays says it has seen sustained growth from north of the border, with more than 20,000 customers travelling from Scotland for the first time in 2012, a 45% increase on the previous year.