Jeremy Ellis, marketing and customer service director, told TTG that despite the travel giant seeing annual growth in the number of customers buying holidays via its digital platforms, its target for website bookers was “slowing compared to where we thought it would be”.

Ellis suggested the shortfall in online bookings – accounting for around 60% of total sales – was linked to Tui’s retail stores “still providing a fantastic service”.

“As far as we are concerned, travel agents will always play a critical part in our distribution mix and I can’t see any end to that,” he said.

When asked if Tui would consider a review of its retail network and close stores ahead of its rebranding from Thomson to Tui later this year, Ellis said: “No – we’ve got a pretty clear plan about where we are going... I’ve been in the company for 25 years and I can imagine we will still have travel agents in 25 years’ time and beyond that.”

Ellis was speaking on Monday at Abta’s Customer Insight in the Travel Industry forum in London, where 
he said the operator favoured an “omnichannel” strategy, which was underpinned by the reputation which consumers place in both its retail and third-party agents.

“[We have] people with real expertise – it’s not just about booking that holiday but servicing that holiday from the time you book to when you go on holiday, and even when you come back again. I think that people aspect is really trusted,” he said.

Ellis also suggested the company may soften its stance on scrapping brochures.

Last July, Tui said it would phase them out in stores by 2020, but Ellis told TTG: “We will gradually move towards that position. It may not be a complete reduction of brochures altogether and we may have something that is in paper form but a different format.

“[Removing brochures by 2020] 
is still our plan. In our [Bluewater] Holiday Design store... obviously if people ask for them we’ll get them... but we have so few and that’s one of the highest-performing stores 
in the country so we know already from the network that [reducing 
the number of brochures] is not impacting sales.

“We’ve got third-party operators that we sell so if they want us to keep a stack of brochures, we’ll keep some... I don’t think it will be totally paperless but it won’t be as it is today.”