Borough travel agents welcomes customers after a year of being shut

Barrhead Travel in Leigh has opened for the first time since March 2020 after 12 months of manager Nicola Hodgson and her team working remotely to support customers as the novel coronavirus had a huge impact on travel plans.

However, the celebrations at being back in the office have not lasted long as the Bradshawgate branch has been visited by large numbers of borough residents looking to book post-pandemic getaways.

Barrhead says that destinations such as Tenerife, Turkey, New York, Orlando and Dubai are all among the favourites with holidaymakers.

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

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 Hodgson 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 noted an increase in new customer enquiries, chiming with a recent report that one in four holidaymakers now plan to use a travel agent, up from one in five in 2019.

Ms Hodgson said: “It is fantastic to open our doors properly after a false start last year. We are so excited to meet some of our customers face-to-face and welcome new ones too.

“We have had some great feedback from our clients who are over the moon to see we are finally able to operate in our brand-new store. It’s really heart-warming to see that support shining through from the community.

“In terms of trends, we are seeing an increase in three generation holidays. Children, parents and grandparents who have been separated for months are now longing for a holiday together.”

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