Seventh consecutive record month for holiday bookings as holidaymakers keen to escape UK’s summer of wet weather

Barrhead Travel, has reported double digit growth for summer departures so far compared to last year’s record figures – making it another record-breaking summer for the firm. July marks the seventh consecutive record-breaking month for sales this year for the Glasgow-headquartered agency.

Holidaymakers continue to flock to the high street travel agent to take advantage of the best deals and escape the poor weather seen across the UK over the summer months.

This rush shows no sign of slowing down as last-minute holidays continue to make up most new bookings with Barrhead Travel, with current sales data reporting that September, October and August remain the highest volume booking months.

The most popular last-minute destinations for English holidaymakers include Dalaman, Tenerife, Mallorca, Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca.

With school holidays drawing to a close, families are taking advantage of early deals for summer 2025, with 40 per cent of new bookings now for this period.

The current most popular destinations for summer 2025 include:

Cruising from Southampton
Mallorca
Turkey
Greece
Canada
Tenerife
Barcelona
Alicante
Orlando
Lanzarote

The travel agency group’s sales data also indicates durations have also been on the rise this summer with more than 50 percent of trips booked for 10 nights or longer, indicating that families were maximising the school summer break.

Jolene Alexander-Smith, Store Manager at Barrhead Travel Burnley said:

“This summer, we’ve really seen a boom in bookings as the weather at home has been consistently poor. People are eager to see the sunshine and spend quality time with their families.

“There’s been great value-for-money on offer abroad – particularly in all-inclusive resorts and cruise holidays. It’s clear that holidays are still a spending priority, and customers are turning to local agents to seek advice, enjoy the best quality and price, as well as secure financial protection.

“Consistently over the past few weeks, a significant percentage of new bookings have been for summer 2025 getaways as people turn their attention to next year. Holidaymakers are booking earlier than ever in order to lock-in their preferred destinations at early-bird prices - we expect that trend to continue over the coming months.”