A £250,000 new cruise centre of excellence has been opened by Barrhead Travel at one of its branches in Edinburgh.
The move follows a claimed 60% rise in cruise bookings over the past year.
The agency has created 14 jobs at the centre in Queensferry Road, including two modern apprenticeships.
The opening of the Edinburgh site follows on the success of cruise call centres in Glasgow, Falkirk and Cumbria.
Barrhead Travel cruise director Catriona Parsons said: “More and more customers are choosing to cruise, and we have witnessed an increasing demand for cruise holidays in the last 12 months with bookings soaring by over 60%.
“It’s not just classic cruise destinations that we’re seeing demand for. We’re witnessing demand for a bit of everything from river cruising to sailings to the Caribbean and Antartica.
“Cruising can take our customers anywhere in the world and it offers something for every generation.
“We’ve chosen to open a dedicated cruise centre of excellence because we recognise that while there are many customers who don’t mind interacting over the telephone, there is still a significant amount of people who would much prefer the opportunity to speak to a specialist cruise consultant face-to-face.
“Our new cruise centre provides that tailored service and will be staffed by travel consultants who have first-hand experience of the cruises they sell.”