UK & Ireland’s Contribution to Travel Award: Jacqueline Dobson, Barrhead Travel

First presented in 2019, this award gives genuine recognition to a member of the travel agency community who has inspired others through their leadership, demonstrated an innovative approach to doing business, or who has given outstanding commitment to their local community.

Presented by sponsor Holiday Extras, and judged in conjunction with the TTG team, the award went to Jacqueline Dobson, President, Barrhead Travel as she received an astonishing number of nominations this year.

Jacqueline took over the leadership of Barrhead Travel at the start of 2019, having worked for the business for 18 years at the time, when former president Sharon Munro took the decision to step down.

Prior to this had had worked in many areas across the company including sales, marketing, business development, product and commercial, and establishing Barrhead’s experience store in Glasgow.

One nomination said: “Jacqueline has worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic supporting the travel network, lobbying government to help support our beloved industry. No matter what time of day, her door is always open and she listens with compassion.”

Another said: “Thanks to her strategic thinking, Jacqueline was able to secure a Scottish government contract, which saw a high number of furloughed employees brought back to work to support contact tracing and vaccination roll-out. Her efforts in securing this project no doubt protected jobs.

“She has also been at the forefront of lobbying in Scotland, working tirelessly to highlight the plight of the industry to politicians and she played an instrumental role in securing Scotland’s Travel Agency fund.”

In a year of unprecedented challenges, Jacqueline has stepped up and fought for both her own business and staff and for the wider industry. A true force for good in travel.