NEWS


DRESSED FOR SUCCESS: Staff at Barrhead Travel’s Northwich branch in Cheshire join head of sales for England Catherine Finlan (centre) to show off their new uniform, rolled out across the agency’s network as part of its modernisation drive. After unveiling a taster of the new styles at its annual conference in Palma in October, the agency has introduced the uniform for all customer-facing roles. There are 25 pieces in the collection, which features a mix of charcoal shades, white and Barrhead Travel’s distinctive red. Travel consultants can “mix and match” items to dress up with suits, court shoes and dresses, or dress down with trousers, T-shirts, skirts and trainers. Agents will be encouraged to choose a look that makes them feel comfortable and represents their individual style and personality.


Agents report February sales ‘all over the place’


Juliet Dennis


Agents say sales in February have been “all over the place” with some claiming recent reports of record sales are not reflective of the true trading picture. Most agents reported


Althams Travel agreed February has


bookings were still up on last year but blamed the half-term school holiday for a fall in sales last week. Disappointing family sales and a drop in big bookings more generally were attributed to political and geopolitical uncertainty and economic concerns. Dawson & Sanderson regional


manager Donna Jobling said: “It’s not been as consistent as we’ve found in previous peaks, which I believe is the feeling across the industry.” She said the family market had “yet to perform as hoped” in comparison with 2023 despite “good overall trading”.


travelweekly.co.uk STORY TOP


been “mixed” after a record-breaking January. Managing director Sandra McAllister said the group was “tracking level year on year” after trading “up for eight days and down for seven days” this month. Triangle Travel general


manager Sarah Kenton said the booking pattern this


year mirrored 2022 when the country was emerging from the


Covid pandemic. She added: “February has been all


over the place. Half-term had a real impact on our figures and it is now a mad dash to the finish line to get close to 2023 figures.” Spear Travels also reported last


week as “significantly quieter”, with booking volumes down 13% on the previous week and 6% on the same week last year while average booking values were down 27% and 24%


respectively as a result of more sales with mainstream suppliers. Natalie Turner, head of retail


operations, said the family market appeared to be “struggling”, adding: “Last week was more challenging as it was half-term. Performance was impacted by much lower average booking values.” TravelTime World director Jackie


Steadman also reported a shift to late and value bookings, and said that while volumes remained “slightly up” year on year, bookings had “fallen off a cliff” in the last six weeks after a “fantastic” final three months of 2023. “There’s no buzz,” she said. “We’re


not getting the big bookers or the family bookings. I think families are worried about mortgages. “It’s unsettled times with the


situations in Ukraine and Gaza.” She accused some travel


businesses of failing to give the full


sales picture, depending on which figures they chose to report. Bailey’s Travel managing


director Chris Bailey said his initial fears about peak sales had not materialised, with £850,000 worth of new business across its two shops since the start of the year. “We are 30% ahead year on


year,” he said. Hays Travel, the UK’s largest


independent agency, also remained bullish. Head of strategy Lisa McAuley said: “Strong trading has continued across Hays Travel during February, including in the family market where we’ve seen no issues.” Similarly, in a trading statement


last week, Jet2 cited “encouraging” forward bookings. However, the firm cautioned that macroeconomic and geopolitical environments could


affect future consumer spend. i Business, back pages


22 FEBRUARY 2024 5


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