Barrhead Travel is to introduce a standalone training platform for agents and will begin chartering flights from Glasgow to Genoa to connect with MSC Cruises sailings.
Forty new training modules will be accessible on the Barrhead Online Training Academy website, covering sectors including cruise, long-haul, insurance and dynamic packaging.
The portal, which will go live early next year, will also host training produced by Barrhead’s partner suppliers including hoteliers, operators and airlines.
Previously, training modules were hosted on the agency’s intranet.
Chairman and founder Bill Munro said: “It’s got everything that agents need and they can access it all from their own workstation.”
The charter flights will connect passengers from Scotland with MSC Seaview sailings from Genoa.
The flights, operated on British Airways aircraft, will run once a week from May to October, with Barrhead offering 98 seats.
The agency already charters flights to cruise ports including Majorca and Venice.
Barrhead also plans to charter flights to European destinations for Scottish business travellers attending one‑day conferences.
Flights would depart from Glasgow early in the morning to coincide with events and return later that day. Munro said the plan had the backing of Scottish business groups and associations including the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the CBI.
Full details are yet to be released, but Munro said Barrhead was “interested in helping big business improve the Scottish economy”.
Last year the agency invested in a new training academy in Glasgow for all staff, including homeworkers and franchise members. The facility is free to use for its managed service branches.
The centre now has a room that can hold 50 people and is available for suppliers to train Barrhead agents. Munro said: “It means suppliers can make one visit and train a large group of agents rather than the old method of turning up to one agency at a time with a pizza.”
The company also uses the training centre to give “intensive training” to new‑starters.
Barrhead will hold its annual suppliers’ conference at the Trump Turnberry Hotel this weekend.