Barrhead Travel has been awarded a prestigious accolade for outstanding growth in passenger numbers to the USA.

Glasgow-based Barrhead Travel was recognised in the 2018 Chairman’s Circle of Honors, awarded by the US Travel Association at the recent IPW conference, held in Denver.

The Chairman’s Circle of Honors celebrate the world’s highest-volume tour operators and buyers of US travel and hospitality services.

Barrhead Travel has reported significant growth in US destinations including Chicago (up 215%), New York (up 54%), Louisiana (up 130%) and Tennessee (up 85%).

Increased staff training, new partnerships with individual state tourism authorities and dedicated partner marketing campaigns have been cited as some of the key growth factors throughout 2017. The travel group last year also announced their partnership with Brand USA, making them the first Scottish travel agency to officially work with the organisation.

Sharon Munro, President of Barrhead Travel, said: “As a business, we are very pleased to be recognised amongst some of the top international tour operators and agencies. In addition to new partnerships and increased training opportunities, sending our USA specialists on familiarisation trips to destinations such as Nashville, Austin and Philadelphia, has played a huge role in shaping the expertise of our USA offering.

“The USA is an incredibly diverse destination with appeal to all types of holidaymakers and we are committed to ensuring its continued growth across the business. Additionally, the increase in direct routes from Scotland to America has had a significant impact as it allows our customers more convenient choices when planning their stateside adventure.”

The US Travel Association’s Chairman’s Circle-level members, which include top US travel businesses and destinations, nominated the honourees.

Roger Dow, President and CEO of US Travel Association, said: “IPW’s goal is to bring the world to America, and this year’s Chairman’s Circle honourees do all that they can to make that vision a reality.

“The honourees do tremendous work to ensure that travellers all around the world know that the US is a great place to visit, and they have my deepest gratitude for their contributions to the US travel industry.”

The 2018 Chairman’s Circle Honors awards hosted 83 individual buyers from 59 organisations, along with leaders from some of America’s top travel companies and destinations.