CUSTOMERS from as far afield as Australia and Spain are beating a path to the door of an award-winning Inverclyde travel agency only a year after it opened.

Travel Actually, based in Kilmacolm, specialises in cruise and luxury vacations, but also provides all types of holiday packages.

The company has now received an Outstanding Achievement Award at the annual Carrier Preferred Agent Awards.

The travel agent, a partner of Barrhead Travel, received the honour at a ceremony attended by a host of the UK’s best luxury travel companies.

Award organisers said they recognised the firm for its high-quality holiday portfolio and first-class levels of customer service.

The company was launched in April last year by Arlene Donald, who has more than 40 years of experience in the trade, with the support of Barrhead Travel’s Brilliant Travel division.

Arlene said she decided to take over and re-brand the former Travel A La Carte business in the village after speaking to Barrhead Travel chairman Bill Munro and realising there was a demand from local, and now global, customers.

She said: “The success of Travel Actually has exceeded my expectations – and the achievement award tops off a great first year for the business. It’s fantastic to be recognised for our hard work.

“Everything was going really well with working at home and I hadn’t really thought about opening a store again – but my customer base was growing and I knew there was potential in the Kilmacolm area to have a stand alone store.

“I have built up a really strong client base over the years, and a lot of my customers have been recommended by others who have been with me for many years.”

Arlene, who has lectured on travel and tourism, has brought in customers from all over the UK – plus Europe and Down Under.

She said the support of Barrhead Travel was invaluable, allowing her access to the travel group’s systems and offers, with the flexibility to run her own store independently.

Arlene added: “I love meeting new people and finding out about them. It’s not just about selling people a holiday – I want to find the holiday that they really want and one that’s perfect for them.

“I’m really excited for the rest of 2016.”

Linda Pyle, Barrhead Travel’s managed service travel partner and homeworking director, said: “Arlene’s award is very much deserved, and we are pleased that her store is going from strength-to-strength.”