THE future of an Aberystwyth travel agents is at risk following the announcement that TUI is to close over 150 of its high street stores.

Earlier today (Thursday, 30 July) TUI announced the streamlining of its retail estate across the UK and Ireland due to Covid-19, which has caused the most unprecedented and “greatest crisis the travel industry has ever faced”.

While TUI cannot confirm which of its 166 stores will be closing, due to continuing consultations, they have confirmed that none of the stores that are currently open are at risk of closure.

But Aberystwyth’s store remains closed.

In May, the TUI Group announced that it was going to reduce overhead costs globally by 30 percent, with approximately 8,000 roles impacted and would “seek to accelerate its path to become more efficient and continue with its programme of digitalisation”.

The proposed impacted stores have been selected considering a number of factors, including local market data, consumer trends and predictions on the future of travel.

166 TUI high street stores will be closed and be replaced with a new homeworking sales and service team, leaving 350 stores in the retail network.

Andrew Flintham, Managing Director TUI UK and Ireland, said: “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, look after our colleagues during such unprecedented uncertainty and also offer a modern customer service.

“Customer behaviours have already changed in recent years, with 70 per cent of all TUI UK bookings taking place online.

“We believe COVID-19 has only accelerated this 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.”