The UK leading travel agent has seen a 20% increase in bookings for departures across the Christmas period compared to last year 

With Christmas around the corner and winter starting to kick in, leading UK travel agency, Barrhead Travel has seen a record number of people booking Christmas escapes.  

The travel agency has seen Christmas and New Year sales up almost 20% in bookings for departures across the Christmas and New Year period compared to last year, with cruising and all-inclusive the most popular styles of holiday.

As the cold weather and early evenings arrive, data shows people are after winter sun with top destinations throughout the UK including Tenerife, Barbados, Lanzarote, Miami and Dubai.

With many looking arrange a trip this winter, 2024 has also been the year of last-minute bookings, and the winter has been no different – In Scotland, late bookings for this winter are already up 15 percent since last year (2023) with over a third of new bookings during October for departure that month.

Jacqueline Dobson, President at Barrhead Travel, said:

“2024 has been the year of the last-minute getaway with one of the key driving factors being the poor weather that we’ve experienced here in the UK.

“Christmas and New Year are always a popular time for travel but we’re noticing higher than usual volumes for bookings during this period. Looking at our top destinations, it’s clear that people are keen to secure some winter sunshine and are maximizing their annual leave and school holidays.

“Holidays remain an incredibly important part of people’s lives right now – so our experts are focused on delivering the very best value-for-money and high-quality experiences for our customers.”

The successful winter period comes after yet another highflying summer for the Glasgow headquartered travel agency, who are already reporting a record-breaking year, trading up 12 percent compared with 2023, which was also a record year for the group.

Barrhead Travel’s retail network is open seven days a week until late, with evening support available through the online service, call centers and social media channels. Find your nearest Barrhead Travel store by visiting https://www.barrheadtravel.co.uk/storelocator.  

About Barrhead Travel       

 Since it was founded in 1975, Barrhead Travel has expanded from a traditional ‘bucket and spade’ travel agent to a multi-faceted travel group offering bespoke holidays and cruises to all corners of the globe.  

In addition to its retail network which spans over 90 locations across the UK, the group has a number of specialist divisions including Touring & Adventure, cruise and USA. 

With a focus on people development, it operates its own in-house Training Academy which provides comprehensive training programmes for its colleagues. The group is an advocate for youth employment and operates its own Modern Apprenticeship programme. 

The company has won many awards over the years, the most recent including Best Travel Agency in Scotland for 23 years running and Best UK Cruise Retail Agent. For the last two years, it has also been named as one of the Best Companies to work for.  

Barrhead Travel sits within the leisure division of Internova Travel Group.