The new stores – in Halifax and Plymouth – will open “in the next few weeks” and form part of the pre-Covid growth ambitions of parent Internova Travel Group (formerly Travel Leaders Group), which acquired Barrhead in February 2018.
“You’ve always got to look forward. It’s been a great time to think about the business and plan for the future,” said Dobson on Monday (2 August).
“Both locations are new to us and were part of expansion plans before Covid - we’d signed leases but not actually been able to open them yet.”
Dobson was speaking prior to an event in London which saw Barrhead staff reunite with US-based counterparts from Internova, who had flown to the UK to celebrate the new quarantine exemption policy for fully vaccinated American arrivals.
“We’re extremely excited we’ve got to this stage after 16 months. What we need now is for the US to open up and reciprocate,” she said.
“I think it’ll be great from an inbound perspective and it will give some consumer confidence – which is great because that has really been lacking due to constantly changing restrictions and rules.”
Calling the day “momentous” as the travel industry continues its recovery amid Covid, Dobson used the occasion to call on the Scottish and UK governments to offer “more stability” to the sector.
With Scottish school holidays soon ending on 16 August, she labelled the current summer season “a write-off”, although described “some late bookings” coming in from English customers.
“Nowhere near where anybody needs it to be though. There is a real pent-up demand and next year is already doing extremely well. I think whatever happens this year it’s going to be a late market because things have been changing so constantly,” she said. “It’s all driven by what we hear from government.
Hope is not going to get you anywhere and we’ve been hoping for the last 16 months that things will improve. We need to see action now before we see any real boost in customer behaviour.”
Dobson urged politicians to help repair damage to Scotland’s air connectivity, after a number of US carriers cut and reduced capacity from Glasgow and Edinburgh during the past year.
“They need to do so much more. We need a financial package because travel business aren’t going to see what I consider ‘normal’ trading until at least next summer.”
She described speaking to both Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and deputy first minister John Swinney in recent weeks to demand “urgent” financial support for travel sector firms.
Other issues – including “much more expensive” testing offered Scotland’s approved provider compared to those in England and the post-pandemic rejuvenation of Scottish high streets were also on the agenda, Dobson said.
Focusing on the future, Dobson discussed how Barrhead had been updating its technology and developing new staff training around mental health, British sign language and “vulnerable customers”.
Barrhead is aiming to have a mental health first aider in each of its branches.
The agency is also hoping to reopen its call centres and offices from 9 August when further Covid restrictions are lifted in Scotland. A “hybrid” working model will be adopted when the business’s full team returns, she added.
