Tui to close 48 retail stores with 273 staff members impacted
23 March 2021, 19:55
Holiday operator Tui has announced that it will close 48 of its high street stores.
The decision will affect more than 270 people, but all 273 employees will be offered new roles in other locations, Tui says.
It added that the travel industry and the high street "are both facing unprecedented pressure" due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Later this week, MPs will be voting on a ban on people leaving the UK to go on holiday, that is set to be included in new Covid laws.
Tui is currently unable to send people from the UK on holiday due to lockdown restrictions.
Tuesday's announcement comes after Tui announced in July last year that 166 shops closed due to the virus crisis would not reopen, which represented nearly a third of its total.
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Tui issued a statement on Tuesday, which reads: "We want to be in the best position to provide excellent customer service, whether it's in a high street store, over the telephone or online, and will continue to put the customer at the heart of what we do.
"It is therefore imperative that we make these difficult cost decisions and do our best to look after our colleagues during such unprecedented uncertainty.
"We believe Covid-19 has only strengthened a change in purchasing habits, with people looking to buy online or wishing to speak with travel experts from the comfort of their own home.
"We have world class travel advisors at Tui, so we hope many of them will become homeworkers and continue to offer the personalised service we know our customers value."
The Anglo-German firm's revenues in the three months to the end of 2020 fell from 3.86 billion euros (£3.39 billion) to 468.1 million euros (£410 million). This marks a massive drop at 88%.
