Barrhead Travel celebrates 50th anniversary in Glasgow city centre

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Barrhead's 50th anniversary event at The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow

Barrhead Travel celebrated its 50th anniversary with an event attended by about 220 suppliers and staff in Glasgow city centre.

The event, held at The Old Fruitmarket in Candlegriggs on Thursday (June 12), included speeches from Barrhead president Jacqueline Dobson and managing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell, as well as guest speaker Lynn Narraway, UK and EMEA vice‑president at Seabourn Cruises.

In her opening speech, Dobson praised the “customer-first approach” of the late Bill Munro, who opened the first Barrhead branch in Barrhead High Street in 1975.

“It all started in 1975 when former banker Bill Munro found all his local travel agencies were closed in the evenings and on Sundays,” explained Dobson, who is also celebrating 25 years working for the company this year.

“That lightbulb moment led Bill to open a small agency opening six days a week until 7pm. It wasn’t long after opening that he decided to take the Sunday market as well and Barrhead Travel became a seven-day operation – truly leading the way for high street agencies of the future.”

More: Barrhead Travel holds graduation ceremony for its latest apprentices

She went on to cover how Barrhead tackled fears over the rise of the internet in the 90s by becoming one of the first high street travel agencies to launch its own website, which she described as a “pivotal move for the business”.

Dobson, who was promoted to an executive leadership role at Barrhead parent company Internova Travel Group last year, listed numerous other hurdles the travel industry has faced and said the agency has managed to overcome them largely thanks to its staff.

Lynn Narraway presents a gift to Jacqueline Dobson at Barrhead's 50th anniversary

“Despite the turmoil, our response and our resilience makes me burst with pride,” she said. “Across every decade, every crisis and every challenge – there’s been one constant that has always driven Barrhead Travel forward – our people.

“It’s because of our amazing colleagues that we were able to rise up amidst the darkest of times and emerge by delivering record breaking sales over the last two years. Barrhead Travel is only a success because of the people behind it.”

A vocal advocate of the importance of high street retail, Dobson also used her platform to once again give her backing to bricks and mortar shops.

She said: “We believe that the high street travel agent is just as relevant today – if not more so – than it was back in 1975.

“However the world of travel evolves in the future, you can be sure that the Barrhead Travel Group will be here and leading the way.”

Barrhead will continue its 50th anniversary celebrations at its annual conference, which will take place this year in Dubrovnik, Croatia from September 28 to October 1.