Barrhead Travel’s parent company has revealed it will continue investing in the agency’s growth and there is no fixed ceiling on the funding it is willing to make available.
Travel Leaders Group president John Lovell told Travel Weekly at the company’s conference in Majorca that investment will be provided whenever an opportunity is deemed worthwhile.
He said: “Where it makes sense to invest in new high street locations, we will.”
More: Barrhead Travel to open specialist US division
Asked for figures, Lovell said: “We really don’t have a set figure. It’s based on what the opportunity is.”
Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson had earlier told the conference that the retail network will be expanded in 2024.
More than £2 million was recently spent on three Barrhead Travel sites, with the relocation of the Glasgow Silverburn Shopping Centre unit described by Lovell as a “significant investment”.
Outlining the approach to funding, Lovell said if it made sense to invest £1m in an opportunity then that figure would be provided.
“The investment does not come down to a fixed amount because that would stifle growth,” said Lovell. “It really comes down to what that opportunity is.”
On artificial intelligence (AI), Lovell said new technology should be embraced and would ideally make jobs more efficient.
He said such developments would not lead to travel agents being replaced.
Giving an example of an earlier innovation, he said: “[Microsoft] Excel did not do away with financial people – it just helped them do their jobs.”
He added: “I’m not afraid of technology or the advancement of technology because ultimately I think humans want to talk to humans. The human element is what clients want from travel agents.
“More and more people want to talk to a travel agent now than at any time in recent history, so the indications are that human interaction is important and will continue to grow.”