Barrhead Travel is celebrating its record start to February after members of the agency’s senior management team returned to frontline sales roles for the group’s annual ‘Back to the Floor Day’.
Trading on Saturday (February 1) was 58% up compared with the first Saturday in February last year, with the weekend finishing 43% up year on year.
A total of 60 people returned to the shop floor on Saturday, spanning members of the senior management team, head office staff and supplier partners.
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Jacqueline Dobson, president of Internova Travel Group’s leisure division, which incorporates Barrhead Travel, said: “We’re very pleased to be heading into February with a record-breaking January under our belts. We’ve also enjoyed one of the strongest starts to February we’ve ever seen, which chimes with our early predictions that peaks would continue well into the first quarter of the year.”
Dobson toured a number of Scottish branches on Saturday, which was the biggest ‘Back to the Floor Day’ yet, while Barrhead Travel managing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell joined the sales floor in Liverpool. Last year’s event took place on the final Saturday of January and featured more than 30 directors and sales support staff.
Last month’s performance outstripped last year’s then-record January performance, despite the disruption caused by Storm Éowyn this year – all Scottish branches were forced to close on Friday, January 24, amid high winds.
Hailing the start to trading this year, Dobson said: “Our customers are not willing to sacrifice or compromise on holidays, preferring to change their destination to maximise their budgets.
“All-inclusive holidays and cruising continue to be winners for the family market but bucket-list trips such as Japan, Canada and Australia have had sharp increases in interest.
“Although people are mostly planning ahead, our lates business is still strong and has accounted for almost 20 percent of new sales.
“Last-minute bookings are mainly for winter sun destinations like Canaries and Dubai so there’s clearly a desire to escape the weather back home. As half-term and Easter approach, I expect we’ll continue to see a similar pattern emerge.”
Photo: Barrhead Travel managing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell joins Liverpool sales staff on Back to the Floor Day 2025