Jacqueline, tell us a bit more about yourself, your route into the industry and your career, and what wisdom you'll be sharing at the conference.

Travel has been my entire career, and luckily for me, it's also my passion. I started in the industry as an apprentice working across a variety of roles, learning the business from the ground up. That experience has shaped how I lead today because I understand both the customer journey and the pressures facing frontline teams.

As President of Barrhead Travel, and through my wider role within Internova Travel Group as President of its leisure division The Vacation Group, I work across both the UK and US markets, which gives me a broad perspective on global trends and consumer behaviour.

Barrhead Travel has grown into one of the UK’s leading travel agency brands, specialising in everything from cruise and touring to luxury and long-haul travel, and I feel really proud to have helped shape that journey. At the ITT conference, I’ll be talking about how I grew my career and helped build Barrhead Travel to what it is today.

Travel finds itself at another time of crisis. What is your assessment of the current challenges, how is Barrhead Travel handholding clients through the uncertainty, and can we look ahead with confidence to the summer?

The travel industry been constantly adapting in recent years, and as a result, has become incredibly resilient. While geopolitical events understandably create uncertainty, our role is to provide calm, factual guidance and reassurance to customers.

At Barrhead Travel, we are communicating proactively with clients, ensuring they receive accurate information and understand that our industry is highly experienced at managing disruption.

Importantly, demand for travel remains strong. Holidays continue to be a priority purchase for many consumers, particularly after the experiences of recent years. We are still seeing healthy booking patterns for summer, especially across cruise, long-haul and premium experiences.

I believe we can absolutely look ahead with confidence, but businesses must remain agile, responsive and focused on customer service. Clear communication and trust are what matter most during periods like this.

Travel is never far from national headlines these days, and rarely gets credit for that resilience you highlight. How can travel adapt and align its messaging to combat this? And are we seeing the industry pull together enough?

As an industry, it's important we help separate headlines from reality. Understandably, lots of media coverage creates concern for consumers, but travel businesses have significant experience navigating operational and economic challenges, including fuel fluctuations. Customers need measured, factual information rather than speculation.

As an industry, we should be aligned in communicating reassurance and perspective. Aviation and travel are highly resilient sectors with contingency planning built into operations. While I don’t deny the challenges, the situation is nowhere near as terrible as some reporting might suggest.

I do think we are seeing good collaboration across the industry, particularly between agents, operators and trade bodies, but there is always more we can do collectively to present a calm and united voice. The key message is that people should continue booking and travelling with confidence while relying on trusted travel agents for guidance.

These situations call for cool, calm, experienced heads. What messages are you sharing with your team every day? And how do you approach your role as not only the head of one of the UK's largest agency brands, but as an industry leader and ambassador?

My message to the team is always consistent: stay calm, stay up to date, and stay close to the customer. During periods of uncertainty, customers look to travel agents for reassurance and guidance, so it’s really important our colleagues feel confident and supported themselves.

Leadership is about visibility and composure during challenging moments. You cannot disappear when things become difficult. I believe strongly in being accessible to my teams, and we pride ourselves on being an "open door" business – always communicating. Confidence filters through an organisation very quickly when leadership remain calm and solutions focused.

I also recognise the responsibility that comes with leading one of the UK’s largest travel agency brands. Travel is an incredibly important industry, not just economically but socially too – holidays are among the best of times for people. I believe as industry leaders we have a duty to advocate positively for the sector and help maintain consumer confidence.

Can you tell us a bit more about how business is going at Barrhead, what's working and selling well, and how you've reacted to demand, trends and circumstances.

We’ve invested heavily in specialist product because customer demand has become far more experience-led. People increasingly want holidays that feel meaningful, tailored and immersive, and we’ve adapted our business to reflect that shift.

Cruise continues to perform well, particularly river cruise and luxury ocean cruise, while touring and adventure travel are also seeing strong demand. Customers are looking for richer experiences, whether that’s cultural touring, expedition cruising or multi-centre itineraries. Long-haul travel has also remained very resilient.

One of the biggest changes we’ve made is to continue deepening specialist expertise across our teams – fam trips are important to us. Customers value knowledgeable consultants who can offer genuine insight and tips. We’ve also invested further in technology while keeping our focus on the high street and putting human service firmly at the centre of the customer experience.

You're a staunch advocate for the high street and its vitality. What steps are you taking to continue championing this, and how are you making politicians sit up and take note?

I feel very strongly that the high street still plays an essential role in communities across the UK, so much so that at the beginning of the year, we launched our new brand platform "travel that’s right up your street". Travel agencies bring expertise, employment and footfall into our towns and cities, and customers continue to value face-to-face advice and trusted relationships when making significant purchases like holidays.

Our retail network continues to perform strongly because customers increasingly appreciate our experts and the reassurance that they offer.

We will continue championing the high street with politicians, local authorities and industry groups because businesses need meaningful support to thrive. Rising operational costs remain a challenge, and there needs to be greater recognition of the economic contribution retail businesses make. Healthy high streets are about far more than shopping – they’re about vibrant local communities of which we are very proud to be part of.

What's the biggest challenge facing the agency sector right now? What actions are you taking to mitigate it? And what can be done to start addressing it?

The biggest challenge right now is maintaining consumer confidence amid constant uncertainty, which is – at times – being fed by ‘heavy handed’ news reporting. Customers are navigating economic pressures, geopolitical headlines and mixed messaging, which means trust has become more important than ever.

Our response is to place a big focus on communication, service and expertise. We are investing heavily in our people because experienced travel professionals are at the heart of it all. Customers want reassurance, advocacy, and someone who can guide them through complexity confidently.

Travel is a hugely important contributor to the UK economy and supports millions of people globally, yet it can sometimes become an easy target during periods of disruption. Continuing to work together with our supplier partners and industry bodies is essential if we want to maintain momentum and consumer trust long-term.