Fifty years after its first branch opened in Barrhead, a small town south-west of Glasgow, Barrhead Travel finds itself at a pivotal moment in its history.

As managing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell shared the agency's punchy trading figures at its conference in Dubrovnik last week, the subject was clear; this is not, and never has been, a business content to rest on its laurels.

Now fully integrated into US owner Internova Travel Group, which acquired the agency in 2018, there’s no doubt Barrhead is a business that is embracing innovation, investing in its people and evolving its brand to ensure its continuing relevance.

It's little wonder then that Barrhead made "Innovate to Elevate" the theme of its conference on the shores of the Adriatic.

'It's been a great year'

The company, Tempest-Mitchell insists, is also “battling harder than ever” for sales – and with some success. In what has been another challenging year, Barrhead is outperforming the market, on track for a third consecutive year of record-breaking sales, with its 2025 order book already 95% complete and sales for 2026 up 16% year-on-year.

The growth has been helped by bold moves such as chartering aircraft, expanding deeper into the group travel, and placing greater focus on booming sectors such as luxury and river cruising, not to mention touring and adventure, sales for which have leapt by 28% this year.

“It’s true customers have needed more convincing, but it’s been a great year, apart from a dip around Easter," says Tempest-Mitchell. "Average duration is now nine nights, and there’s no doubt that people have traded down rather than forgoing a holiday entirely, but that hasn’t hit our overall figures.”

After a steady peaks earlier this year, Tempest-Mitchell credits travel's mainstream operators for recognising their misjudgement and making their lates pricing more attractive, stimulating late summer demand.

And while perennial favourites like Spain has performed well, as ever, Tempest-Mitchell says Barrhead's customers have been more adventurous this year, showing in stronger demand for Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Greece and North Africa. “Post-Covid, they were settling for the destinations they were most familiar with – now they are being more adventurous."

Barrhead's agents, she adds, are also selling more all-inclusive holidays, allowing consumers to more confidently control their costs.

(Credit: TTG)

With so much innovation and hard work required to make these sales, Barrhead has placed a clear focus on its people this year, doubling down on its commitments as a good employer. This is reflected in the launch of an in-house training academy, and a pledge to deliver 28,000 hours of training by the end of 2025.

Apprentices are also becoming core to the company’s workforce, while the company is also elevating wellness and workplace culture, with programs addressing mental health, financial wellbeing and diversity.

In 2026, Barrhead launch the “Choose Your Own Path” programme, offering every colleague access to more than 1,000 educational courses tailored to their individual aspirations and skillsets.

With a brand refresh coming in December – and the launch of a new customer app early in 2026 – the innovations continue, but Barrhead’s bricks and mortar agencies remain at the core of the business.

Alongside its growing Brilliant Travel homeworking and franchise division, its commitment to the high street remains strong; its newest branch opened in Northern Ireland's Craigavon Retail Park last month, while five more locations have been modernised this year at a cost of £300,000.

With more than 90% of its Scottish network upgraded, the focus is now shifting to filling gaps on Scotland's high streets and expanding further in Northern Ireland. Expansion will remain measured though, with Tempest-Mitchell keen to stress Barrhead's aim isn't to be the biggest, but to be the best.

As Barrhead Travel prepares for its next chapter, who would bet against it achieving its goals and telling us all about them at next year's conference in Lake Maggiore?