In the same year The Godfather arrived in cinemas and the Watergate scandal rocked US politics, Stewart Travel was quietly getting on with selling its first holiday.

This was 1972, and 50 years hence, after weathering the extreme challenges of the past two years, director of retail Linda Boyd and her team are determined to continue building on Stewart’s legacy and longevity.

“It’s nice to look back, but our eyes are firmly fixed on the future,” Boyd tells TTG as the agency celebrates its golden anniversary year.

“We’re not 50 years old – we’re 50 years young,” she smiles. “It’s been very hard, we’ve faced such turbulent times. We’re so proud to work for a company that’s been here for 50 years [but] we know we need to adapt, modernise and offer the best service to our customers.”

Fifty years ago, Benidorm was a top seller among the few destinations offered by Stewart’s first branch in the South Ayrshire town of Prestwick as part of a fledgling package holidays market. 

Five decades later, the business now has 12 stores, employs around 100 staff and offers worldwide holiday options for customers to explore. 

Prestwick was opened by Stewart Travel founder Willie Stewart on the same day his daughter was born, with the shop enjoying a “birthday makeover” last month. 

Store manager Donna Bicker is Stewart Travel’s longest-serving member of staff, and her branch was named Scotland’s Top Agency at TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies 2019.

Boyd recalls bartending and reminiscing with customers at recent in-store celebrations. “It was a lovely day,” Boyd says. “Listening to their stories of the holidays they had booked there over the years and how much the Prestwick team means to its community made everyone very proud.”

She stresses the celebrations would continue for the rest of the year, with further events planned including a competition giving a lucky customer the chance to win a £5,000 holiday and 50 runners-up a £100 travel voucher.

Being able to celebrate past successes, toast Stewart’s recent hard work throughout the pandemic and look ahead to the future with confidence remains important to Boyd and her team.

PANDEMIC MAKEOVER

Reflecting on the challenges posed by the Covid crisis, she praises Stewart’s owner Brooklyn Travel Group, which acquired the business in 2018 from Minoan, for its support.

“The management really stuck by us,” says Boyd. “We held our nerve and didn’t let any retail staff go – in fact, we came out of Covid with more staff than we went in with.”

That show of faith allowed Stewart Travel to offer “the best possible service when customers needed us most”, which Boyd says is “now paying dividends” with Feefo scores and repeat booking figures all on the rise.

“We also used the time wisely during Covid and invested in our stores to modernise them,” she explains; larger Stewart stores have opened in Helensburgh, Belfast and Inverurie, while the agency has also taken on its first shop in the Republic of Ireland after acquiring Dublin’s Killiney Travel. 

“We knew when demand came back it was going to come back in force – and it has, that’s for sure,” she smiles.

BOUNCING BACK

The Stewart website has been refreshed with a short-haul product availability search and new range of long-haul and tailor-made holidays, while a new customer quotation system will debut this month.

“That’s what it’s all about – we have to keep changing,” Boyd says.

Post-pandemic, customers are “more adventurous than they’ve ever been” she says. Clients are upgrading their trips, staying longer and spending more, with average selling prices growing accordingly – a hugely positive sign for the future of the business and the next chapter in its history.

“Just seeing how the market has bounced back – we really couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present,” beams Boyd. “We’re outperforming our 2019 figures. It’s boom time again, and we’re looking forward to the next 50 years.”