Oldham travel team open their doors as holiday bookings soar

Leading Oldham travel agency Barrhead Travel have reopened their doors today (Monday) and are welcoming back customers after seeing a boom in holiday bookings as lockdown eases. 

Over the last year, store manager Louise Jones and her experienced team have been working remotely, tirelessly supporting customers impacted by Covid-19.  

Ms Jones said that with the vaccine roll-out and easing of lockdown, people were now feeling more confident about planning their dream holiday for the near future.  

They are witnessing the release of a massive pent-up demand– with destinations such as Tenerife, Turkey, New York, Orlando and Dubai among the favourites. 

Demand for summer 2022 remains the most popular booking season, but the Barrhead Trave team noted that bookings for this summer have increased over the last few weeks in tandem with lockdown restrictions easing. 

The Barrhead Travel team reported that staycations and UK cruises have been proving popular for late spring bookings as families and friends plan to reunite for their first post-lockdown holiday.

For this summer and beyond, demand for foreign holidays has been rising as customer confidence booms following comments from Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, who confirmed that people can start thinking about booking summer holidays.  

Ms Jones said that customer safety and peace of mind remains the number one priority and that customers are increasingly turning to their local travel agencies for advice.

She also said they had noticed an increase in new customer enquiries, chiming with ABTA’s recent report that one in four holidaymakers now plan to use a reputable travel agent – up from one in five in 2019.  

Earlier this year, Barrhead Travel launched their Stress-Free Guarantee which provides holidaymakers with assurances about financial protection, flexible booking options and safety abroad.

Barrhead Travel say the guarantee offers a cast-iron pledge to ensure that every single holiday booked is completely protected and offers the best possible flexibility – something that will be key for holidaymakers while travel is still subject to change.  

Ms Jones said: “We are so looking forward to be reunited with our lovely customers and to welcome the new!

"We have received such great support from our community over the last year and we just can’t wait to see everyone face-to-face and help them with their holiday plans. 

"We have so much to offer, from staycations across the UK to bucket list destinations available through to 2023.

"It seems there is a high demand for 3G holidays where multiple generations are looking to escape and spend some much missed quality time together.” 

Barrhead Travel in Oldham - located on Market Place - is now open.

The team is available for both in-store and virtual appointments – call 0161 518 1313 for more information.  

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