NEWS
hosts 220 delegates at annual forum. Juliet Dennis reports from Trump Turnberry hotel, Ayrshire Nicki Tempest-Mitchell
B
Barrhead to set up touring and adventure sales division 1%
arrhead Travel is to create a separate touring and adventure sales division and increase its focus
on weddings, honeymoons, ski and luxury holidays through its branches. The company is recruiting a
four-strong team of touring and adventure specialists, due to be in place by the end of this year. The team will comprise experts
in touring and adventure working from home, who will be fed enquiries from online, social media and events. They will also take on more complex, specialist bookings from Barrhead’s high street stores where needed. Sales and marketing director
Nicki Tempest-Mitchell said the new division would complement sales of touring and adventure holidays through Barrhead’s 51 high street
Currently touring and adventure
Barrhead’s current proportion of touring and adventure sales
branches and fill a gap in the market as demand for this type of trip increases. The team will work closely with trade body the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers (Atas). She said: “We feel now is the
right time to look at this. This will be a dedicated team, 100% focused on selling touring and adventure holidays, who will run events to attract customers to the brand. “They are being recruited based
on their expertise and will work closely with Atas suppliers.”
sales account for only about 1% of Barrhead’s sales. The group is also planning a
heightened focus on ski, wedding, honeymoon and luxury holidays with more frequent, dedicated promotions to drive higher volumes of sales through branches. “We are working with our
suppliers and we are committed to doing a lot more training in these areas,” added Tempest-Mitchell. “We want to grow [our presence] in the weddings, luxury and ski space.” The company revealed it is
also embarking on a customer segmentation project in 2023 to develop more detailed client profiles to help the agency target the right holidaymakers with the right products and expand its existing customer base.
Tie-up with currency provider ‘exceeds targets’
A decision to work with a third-party foreign exchange provider is “exceeding expectations” and driving an increase in customers to Barrhead branches. Barrhead Travel began working with No1 Currency
in June this year and said sales of foreign exchange were already 215% above target. The news was announced as the agency revealed
66% of new bookings since January have come from customers who did not previously book with Barrhead. During Covid, the
Jacqueline Dobson with guest speaker and paralympian Sir Lee Pearson CBE
travelweekly.co.uk
agency closed its foreign exchange bureaux, which it previously ran inhouse. Following a business
review, the company
Delegates taking part in Business Networking Sessions
decided to revive the service in partnership with a third-party provider. Sales and marketing director Nicki Tempest-Mitchell
said the partnership had enjoyed a “phenomenal start”, bringing “a whole new audience” into Barrhead’s shops. The currency provider’s website directs customers to
local Barrhead branches to collect overseas travel money. She said: “We are
seeing the partnership attract new customers to Barrhead; 40% of traffic is being driven by online [currency] orders being collected in our branches. “We have taken their
processes and technology and it’s made it much easier, plus transaction times are lower.”
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