Cruises from Southampton and Miami were among the best-selling holidays for Barrhead Travel, with the agency reporting a 20 per cent rise in Easter bookings year-on-year

The Scottish travel agency also reported a steady increase in cruise sales since the start of the year, with demand for holidays at sea seeing an encouraging uptick.

Barrhead’s booking patterns indicate that customers, particularly families, were taking advantage of the earlier Easter as they looked to book longer duration holidays.

Not only that, but the final weeks of winter also saw a year-on-year increase in sales, with bookings taken toward the end of March increasing by roughly 10 per cent.

This follows the recent news that Barrhead reported a near twenty-fold increase in river cruise bookings, with Asia emerging as one of the fastest growing destinations within the sector.

Appetite growing for multiple family holidays

Jacqueline Dobson, president of Barrhead Travel, said: “Easter is one of the first opportunities of the year for families to get away and enjoy some quality time together. There’s been a clear shift in the last few years when it comes to spring getaways. We used to see more long weekends or domestic breaks for families during Easter but now, it’s evolved into a key date in the annual holiday calendar.

“We’re finding that most families who are heading away at Easter also have overseas summer plans, too – so there’s an appetite for multiple family holidays this year.

“Keen pricing – especially during the latter half of the holidays – has prompted last-minute demand from the family market. The cold and wet weather at home also seems to have contributed to some spontaneous trips away in search of sunshine.

“Summer 2024 continues to be the biggest season for all our divisions – but I also think we’ll see another flurry of late bookings for the upcoming May Bank holidays.”

The Barrhead Travel Group’s performance follows a record-breaking start to the year when the group reported four consecutive record-breaking weekends – including the highest ever day of trading on Saturday 27^th January.