A LEADING UK travel agent has said it enjoyed its best ever start to the year with a record-breaking January for holiday bookings.
Barrhead Travel has revealed that holidaymakers flocked to take advantage of early booking deals last month, with bookings up 25% from the previous record.
Despite cost-of-living challenges, Barrhead Travel theorises that consumers are prioritising holiday spend and leaning on travel agents to help with budgeting.
The company’s retail network also reported that 5% of customers in January booked two or more holidays at a time as people looked to secure top deals and manage monthly payments.
Jacqueline Dobson, President of Barrhead Travel, said: “As January draws to a close, we’re pleased to confirm a record-breaking month of holiday bookings – up 25% from January 2020 when we last reported a record sales month prior to the pandemic.
“Demand for travel is higher than ever and we expect momentum will remain strong during February.
“There is a real confidence in the market: customers are decisive and determined to lock in their getaways as soon as possible and many are even booking multiple holidays at once.
“It’s fantastic to see people embracing the services of their local travel agents – more than half of our new bookings so far this month are from new-to-brand.
“Getting value-for-money is top priority which is why we’re seeing the all-inclusive board basis proving to be the most popular holiday type.
“Cruise bookings are up by over 200% with Southampton departures offering very attractive options for families.”
Barrhead Travel’s top 10 destinations this January included:
- Tenerife
- Cruising from Southampton
- Mallorca
- Barcelona
- Alicante
- Orlando
- Lanzarote
- Cruising from Miami
- Barbados
- Vancouver
