BARRHEAD Travel will pass the 1,000 staff milestone when it fills 100 positions in the coming months, having already boosted job numbers at the group by 149 this year.
The company, one of the fastest growing travel agents in the UK, has had to undertake further recruitment to meet growing customer demand.
The family-owned firm, which turns over more than £250 million, is recruiting 80 new staff members, mainly destination specialists, including positions at its flagship Glasgow city centre superstore, in Oswald Street.
Barrhead Travel will also bring on board a further 25 modern apprentices this year, which will take the company’s total trainee intake in 2017 to 85.
Managing director Sharon Munro said the additional recruitment came as the company was looking to double the size of one or two shops to cope with increasing customer numbers.
“The last thing people want to give up is a holiday, and our numbers show people like to have something to look forward to,” she said.
In addition to increased sales staff, the new recruits will work in support roles such as marketing and administration to manage the increased business that will come with expansion.
“We’re also looking at people with digital experience to help us grow that side of the business," said Ms Munro.
She added that the company has had a strong summer period, with bookings over June, July and August up about 20 per cent on 2016. For summer 2018, she said, people were booking early and business was currently sitting up 30 per cent.
“People are definitely still booking up for next year,” she said. “Holidays are something people won’t give up easily. People are looking to have experiences and to make memories. Rather than having the most expensive car or handbag they would rather take that money and put it into experiences.”
While online businesses such as Expedia and booking.com have swept up a lot of business that once went through high street travel agents or directly to tour operators, Ms Munro said that the traditional method of booking a holiday based on advice from an agent had “never faltered” at the business.
“We’ve been increasing our store numbers over the years,” said Ms Munro. “People who have booked online in the past have had different experiences. I’m not saying booking online is a bad thing if you know exactly what you want, but what we offer is advice.”
This can include booking attractions and excursions to be taken on holiday, in addition to identifying specific hotel types in specific areas, for example.
“Holidays are so precious to people, they save up a lot of money to go away and they want to make sure they have the best experience while they are there,” said Ms Munro.
Including franchises, there are currently 70 Barrhead branches and Ms Munro said they would be looking for a couple more stores this year, adding: “we’ve got quite fast expansion plans for next year and into the year after”.
This will include growth south of the Border, but she added there would be further openings in Scotland. “We’re always looking at new opportunities, and how we can stay relevant, new routes to market,” she added.
This will lead to increased staff in its call centres, because its website is performing better. Ms Munro said its social media strategy was also working “exceptionally well”.
The recruitment of 25 modern apprentices will take to 100 the number of youngsters at the business, and Ms Munro said the company was fully committed to modern apprenticeships.
Highlighting that some directors at the group began as apprentices, Ms Munro said: Young people who are bright and talented are vital to the sustainable success of our business, and we want to bring them in while their young, get them immersed in our culture and then we can watch them flourish and grow with the business.”
The number one destination for the business is Palma, with Tenerife and Alicante behind. For long-haul, Orlando and New York are most popular.
Business to Croatia is up about 70 per cent this summer, said Ms Munro.
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