Managing director Nick Longman said the move to fully digitalise programmes would allow the operator to offer “holidays that choose you” – similar to the way the entertainment streaming service suggests films to watch by tracking customers’ viewing habits.

The change was included in a host of digital developments for booking and advertising outlined by Longman during Tui’s summer 2017 programme launch this week.

New technologies being explored for in-store use include equipment that recognises customers when they enter a store, digital screens enabling customers to search for holidays and free Wi-Fi in shops.

Longman told TTG the modifications were evidence that the travel industry had “moved on” and Tui’s decision to tap into how Netflix interacted with customers was a “natural evolution” for the company.

Thomson and First Choice currently produce a combined 4.7 million brochure copies a year across 58 titles.

“I love the way that Netflix learns what you’re looking for and learns to understand you and gives you suggestions,” Longman said. “They’re giving you shows that choose you and we’re looking to do the same thing.”

Longman denied the move to go paper-less was a risk, citing Tui’s removal of offer cards from its store windows. “It was tough but people got over it and actually that clear line of sight gave the stores a more professional look,” he said.

Longman also added that brochures could be replaced with a “lifestyle-led publication [published] a couple of times a year”.

Tui also announced additions to its product offering with an inaugural programme of city breaks for winter 2016. Trips to New York, Vegas, Miami, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Cape Town will all be available for booking next month with the decision to introduce the getaways down to “customer expectation”, according to Longman.

“If you look at the top 20 most searched terms on our website they would include Las Vegas, New York, Miami, Dubai – all destinations we don’t serve,” he added. “It seemed like a real waste to me. There’s a demand and we don’t supply it and we should. The question for us is ‘how do we do that but add value?’ so I think we could achieve that.”