Barrhead Travel celebrates 50th anniversary in Glasgow city centre

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.”

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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.