Scottish World Cup qualification sparks surge in agent enquiries

Scottish travel agents say requests for flights and packages to North America shot up overnight after Scotland qualified for next year’s World Cup.

 

Immediately after Scotland’s historic 4-2 win against Denmark on Tuesday night, agents reported a surge in enquiries from regular clients regarding travel to the World Cup – even though fixtures are not being announced until December 5.

 

It is the first time Scotland have qualified for the global tournament since 1998.

 

Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson said the agency’s World Cup landing page enjoyed the highest traffic across its websites last night.

 

She said: “It’s been almost three decades since Scotland qualified for a World Cup – so last night’s victory is historic and the demand for travel is already reflecting this.

 

“Our World Cup landing page on the website had the highest traffic last night across our entire web estate, which gives an indication of how significant the appetite to travel will be.”

 

Barrhead launched its World Cup packages last year and has already taken bookings from fans keen to enjoy the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.

 

She added: “Now Scotland and England have qualified, the pace of enquiries has accelerated. Some Scotland fans are telling us this morning they just want to get to North America, so are already booking up travel to ensure they’re in the region for at least a week or two.

 

“Our teams are incredibly excited to be supporting fans and we’ve got some brilliant product on offer, including with our partners at Roadtrips who are specialists in sports experiences, offering World Cup Match Day experiences included in their offering and are part of our Internova Travel Group family.”

 

Four-branch Lanarkshire-based agency Love To Travel said it took 25 advance registrations straight after the dramatic win from clients keen to put their name down to book flights and accommodation or packages as soon as fixtures are released.

 

Owner Joanne Martin said she expected the number of registrations to increase quickly and planned to allocate one member of staff in each of her branches to oversee bookings.

 

“It’s fantastic news and we have already been inundated with people asking about flights and accommodation, and we’re hopeful some operators will put on packages with tickets that we can sell too. I think we’ll be very busy,” said Martin.

 

Love To Travel’s Motherwell branch has a particularly special connection as it is the home town of footballer Kieran Tierney, who scored the third goal of last night’s game. His family are known to staff as they book holidays through the branch.

 

“We have a real connection with Kieran in Motherwell. There will be lots of interest,” added Martin.

 

Following the game the agency posted details on its Facebook page of a two-week Tui holiday at Rosen Inn, Pointe Orlando, in June, with flights out of Glasgow, priced at £1,275, in the belief some families will want to be in the US for the World Cup, and potentially book internal flights to attend games. The Miami Stadium is set to host seven group stage matches, three of which fall during the Tui holiday.

 

Martin also expects interest from fans to travel to Scotland to watch the games on home soil and said the agency hoped to cash in on demand for domestic hotel and transport bookings from other parts of the UK. “There are lots of expats who will want to come to Scotland and experience the atmosphere,” she said.

 

A spokesperson for the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association (SPAA) said: "The whole country is buzzing that Scotland is back on the world stage.

“This time, we’ll need more than a quick hop over the Channel, and the Tartan Army is already preparing for its biggest global march since ‘Ally’s Army’ headed for Argentina in 1978… Fortunately, in travel terms, 2026 looks nothing like 1978… or even 1998.

“Scotland’s travel professionals are already planning tailored packages to all host cities; multi-centre itineraries for those following Scotland across North America; advice on visas, entry requirements and the quirks of three host nations; and protection for fans booking complex, multi-flight World Cup trips.”

“Simply put: in 2026, your journey to the World Cup will be more ’seamless adventure’ and less ’Planes, Trains and Automobiles – Tartan Edition’ when you use a Scottish travel agent.”