Local Belfast travel agent, Kieran O’Donnell, has been recognised as one of the best travel agents in the UK by the prestigious industry award programme, Agent Achievement Awards by Travel Weekly.
The Agent Achievement Awards has celebrated excellence in the travel trade for the past quarter of a century and is regarded as the highest honour in the industry for both individual agents and agencies.
Kieran O’Donnell, Assistant Manager at Barrhead Travel Belfast, earned his place as ‘Leisure Agent of the Year Finalist’ by excelling not just professionally, but in support of partners, colleagues, customers and their communities.
O’Donnell holds an abundance of service traits acknowledged as part of the judging process, one being his dedication to his customers. When travel resumed last year, Kieran personally delivered PCR tests to customer’s doorsteps, collected them after testing, and returned to test providers where elderly and vulnerable customers had trouble getting to testing centre destinations.
This is just one example that reflects the lengths Kieran reaches to ensure his customers have a seamless, care-free experience. It is such service that Kieran believes cannot be experienced online, he explains:
“During the pandemic, a person who booked their holiday online had a far different experience than those who booked with a reputable travel agent. As confidence continues to build and travel becomes more and more accessible, we are experiencing a higher intake of repeat custom and new customers who are looking for a human connection and someone they can trust with their next holiday.
“At Barrhead Travel we have a Stress-Free Guarantee policy that we have had amazing feedback from, all of our customers are completely financially protected with everything taken care of – meaning all there is left to do is enjoy that long-missed holiday feeling!”
O’Donnell is one of six travel specialists in the Barrhead Travel Belfast branch based in the Victoria Square Shopping Centre who sell a wide range of holiday offerings including cruise, staycations, touring, wedding and honeymoons, city and beach breaks – all tailor-made to each customer.
O’Donnell reports that 2022/2023 cruise holidays are proving a popular choice for the Belfast locals. To provide the best inspiration and information to those looking to set sail, Barrhead Travel Belfast is participating in the company-wide cruise event – the Sail Away Sale – taking place this weekend from Friday 27th August to Monday 30th August. With a hybrid format of online and in-store appointments, the event will offer exclusive discounts, prizes, and added-value for those booking a cruise holiday this weekend.
5 Northern Irish travel agents have also be shortlisted for the regional agency awards, the largest category within the Agent Achievement Awards. Clubworld Travel, Feherty Travel, Oasis Travel, Thompson Travel International and Wayne Pollock Exclusive Travel were all included within the 2021 shortlist, an excellent achievement for the travel sector of Northern Ireland.
