“Organisationally, we’re all part of the same company, so Jacqueline’s [Dobson, Barrhead president] success is ultimately Travel Leaders Group’s,” president John Lovell said.
His comments on Wednesday (4 October) followed Barrhead sales and marketing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell telling Barrhead’s conference in Mallorca that the agency had delivered a 26% increase in performance compared to pre-pandemic levels.
All sectors had increased their performance, Tempest-Mitchell reported, but especially the recently-launched touring and adventure division, which claimed growth of 102%.
Commenting on the results, Lovell told TTG Barrhead’s performance had contributed to the US group’s overall success, but stressed it was important to keep increasing transaction values.
“Ultimately growth is what propels any organisation to make future investments,” he said.
According to Lovell, Travel Leaders Group is in "a good position" to keep growing at a double-digit rate next year, despite global financial headwinds – including inflation and higher costs of living, as well as more costly air and hotel pricing.
“We all operate in the same environment, so I don’t think the experience of the UK client is going to be different from the US client at all,” he said. “If there are any challenges, we’re all going to face them together.”
Looking ahead, Lovell expects Brilliant Travel – Barrhead’s homeworking division – to grow significantly while Barrhead continues to expand into the high street market.
“I see that as a huge opportunity for us in the next five years,” he added. Lovell has also not ruled out the acquisition of another UK travel agency in the future, but said it will need to make sense for the wider Travel Leaders Group.
“We’re an opportunistic company,” he concluded. “If an acquisition makes sense in the future, we’ll look at it.”
