Top 50 - Scotland - Travel Guru, Uddingston

With big plans in place for Travel Guru to celebrate its fifth anniversary in 2023, this small but mighty team of five has an incredibly exciting year ahead, especially after starting with its most prosperous January to date.

The success of this agency owned by travel industry stalwart Paul Reid is integral to the Uddingston community, and it’s not unusual to find the store filled with customers sharing travel memories and plans over a glass of prosecco and a home-made cake, or treats from the Tunnock’s factory around the corner.

No request is too much trouble for the Travel Guru team – even when a customer calls from Orlando in the middle of the night to rearrange their dinner reservation, they will happily oblige. Karen, in particular, excels at going the extra mile, last December writing a letter of apology from Santa to a client’s seven-year-old twin daughters who were devastated to hear their visit to Lapland was cancelled due to bad weather – it said they will instead visit the following year.

The agency is gearing up to launch the three-tiered Travel Guru VIPs loyalty scheme, with regular customers unlocking benefits such as additional discounts and free lounge passes. Meanwhile, school groups going abroad in the summer receive free transfers, and others can take private transfers with a local business.

Protecting the planet and the people who inhabit it is also high on the Travel Guru agenda. Once Travel VIPs comes into effect a tree will be planted for every customer in the top tier and the team actively encourages travel to lesser-visited destinations, as well as working with local tour guides in-destination to support local economies.

The team takes regular training to keep their destination and product knowledge up to the minute, while the agency is the official sponsor of both Uddingston Rugby Club and Uddingston Bowling Club. Plus, thanks to a plethora of donations to local charities in the past year, it’s not just the agency’s clients’ lives it’s enriching through travel, it’s the Uddingston community too. 

travelgurultd.co.uk