Scots’ 10 favourite holiday hotspots revealed as Barrhead Travel says trips being ‘ringfenced’

The Glasgow-headquartered holidays business said it had topped sales every month in 2024 following 12 consecutive record-breaking months the previous year. During the past year, the group has invested in a series of store refurbishments, as well as recently celebrating the launch of its second store in Northern Ireland.

Bosses said the travel agency would close the year trading up 13 per cent, compared with sales in 2023 which was previously the company’s best year. Sustained high holiday demand has bolstered sales, they noted, with forward bookings for 2025 also ahead compared with the same period last year.

In Scotland, the five top short-haul trips were to Tenerife, Majorca, Alicante, Lanzarote and Turkey, while the top five long-haul destinations were Barbados, Dubai, Orlando, Mexico and Canada. Cruising from Southampton was also popular.

The firm said last-minute bookings had been a notable feature of the group’s sales success with the poor summer weather encouraging “spontaneous” breaks. All inclusive holidays remained the number one holiday type while cruise bookings also grew in popularity - particularly river cruising where sales jumped 43 per cent. Holiday duration was on the rise with breaks for ten nights or longer accounting for more than 50 per cent of bookings - something that the travel group says is reflective of people’s desire to make the most of their annual leave.

Jacqueline Dobson, president of Barrhead Travel, which will celebrate 50 years in business in 2025, said: “2024 has been a year of growth for Barrhead Travel, with a focus on investing in our high street locations and our people. Across the country, spending on holidays is being ringfenced, and we see our customers taking more frequent and longer breaks. With multi-generational and group bookings on the rise, it’s clear that people are using their holidays to spend time with those who mean the most to them.

“As we look to the year ahead, we’re expecting another strong year for travel. We’ve made further investments in our product portfolio to ensure we can offer the most exciting experiences on the market.”