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The Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association welcomed a
record-breaking number of guests at its annual awards ceremony where it celebrated top-performing agencies and operators
The event at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central last week hosted 680 guests, the highest figure in the 32-year history of the awards and up from last year’s 650. “It’s the best night in Scotland from a travel perspective, so everybody wants to attend,” said SPAA president Jacqueline Dobson, noting that a waiting list had to be drawn up as the venue capped the attendance total. “We’ve got some amazing talent in Scotland and it’s fantastic for our people to be recognised and given these awards,” she added. She said she had enjoyed her first year at the helm of the SPAA, during which the body had been “lobbying hard” on key issues while welcoming strong booking figures. “It’s been a great year to take over as president,” she said. “It’s been the second recovery year for many agents and travel is booming. Customers are looking for lots of holidays – the demand is there – so it’s been absolutely fantastic.” Cruise has been a particular strength for many members and the
SPAA is continuing to work with Clia to protest against proposals for a cruise tax in Scotland. “We’ve had several meetings with the Scottish government,” said Dobson, adding: “I definitely think cruise is a real opportunity for agents moving forward.” Lobbying efforts also continue on the regeneration of the high street, with the SPAA calling for “fairer” business rates in Scotland. “We’re at a disadvantage compared with our English counterparts,” said Dobson. Overall, though, she believes 2025 holds much potential. “When
you see the consumer spending surveys, the last thing people give up is holidays, so it’s really positive,” she said. “And there’s lots of additional capacity, with the likes of Jet2 and Tui putting in more flights from Scotland. We still need more long-haul flights to the US, so we’re lobbying the airlines to try to increase capacity, but it’s definitely looking more favourable for 2025.” During this year’s ceremony, a toast was raised in tribute to Barrhead
Travel founder Bill Munro and the “sorely missed” Denise Holmes. 1 SPAA president Jacqueline Dobson, Barrhead Travel
2 Stu Parish, T ravel Weekly 3 Dobson; Matt Hands, Barrhead
Travel, winner of tickets to New York; and Maris Kuklis, JetBlue 4 Dobson and Parish with Muriel Morgan, Travel Counsellors
5 Greig Avinou Travel 6 Jimmy Martin, Jimmy Martin Travel, and Gayle Gordon, Clyde Travel 7 Guests enjoy the evening 9 Tracy Docherty and Gemma Pinder-Davidson from If Only
10 U Dance Company 11 Muriel Morgan, Travel Counsellors (in green), celebrates her win 12 Event MC Edward Reid 13 Beatles tribute duo Just John and Paul provide entertainment
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7 NOVEMBER 2024
travelweekly.co.uk
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