Barrhead Travel Group reports ‘best trading day’ at weekend

The Barrhead Travel Group has reported a record sales day for Saturday (January 11) and expects the buoyant market to continue through the rest of this month.

Its new record overtakes last year’s Back to the Floor Day when senior management, head office teams and supplier partners visited branches across the country for the last Saturday in January.

Branches across the retail network reported “strong” footfall, particularly across the weekend as the cold weather began to thaw, said the agency chain.

Top destinations included Tenerife, Mallorca, Lanzarote, Turkey and cruising from Southampton.

Its Brilliant Travel division has reported weekend sales spikes of 24% for its Managed Service Travel Partners (MSTPs) and 55% for its homeworking division.

The homeworking network has seen a growth in interest in long-haul, with Doha and Auckland featuring within the top-booked destinations, as well as family favourites such as Tenerife and Antalya.

Group-wide, summer 2025 is accounting for more than half of new bookings, with winter 2024 still popular for late sales.

Jacqueline Dobson (pictured), president of Barrhead Travel, said: “We’re off a good start this January with demand already overtaking last year.

“People getting back to a normal work and school routine has kick-started the usual January rush for holidays.

“As we reach the halfway point in the month, it’s incredible to already have a record sales day under our belts.

“We’re expecting more of the same as the month progresses and we continue to firm up our customers’ plans.”

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