Travel Firm TUI to Close 166 U.K. and Ireland Stores to Cut Cost

(Bloomberg) -- TUI AG, Europe’s largest holiday company, will close 166 stores in the U.K. and Ireland to cut costs as more customers more book online.

The closed stores will be replaced by sales and customer-support staff working from home, the company said in a statement, without commenting on the number of jobs that will be affected. Following the closures, TUI will have 350 stores in the U.K. and Ireland.

The travel and tourism company, which has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, said 70% of all its U.K. bookings take place online already. The closures come as a resurgence of some travel restrictions threatens to doom the revival of business in the usually busy summer-holiday season.

“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,” Andrew Flintham, managing director for TUI U.K. and Ireland, said in the statement. “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.”

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