Peter Fankhauser, group chief executive, said that although the travel giant had seen a “massive shift” into online bookings, Cook’s “footprint” still remained on the high street.

“The high street is still playing an important role for us,” he said.

Cook revealed in its half-year results announcement that the UK had seen a 15% rise in online bookings.

“We have followed customer demand and if the customer is looking for us on the web we are following,” said Fankhauser.

The company announced last month that a further 17 of its stores were to close. The news followed similar announcements in February, and October last year.

Fankhauser could not confirm how many Cook staff had been repositioned but maintained he believed a crucial reason for the success of its retail network was the relationships built between agents and customers.

“The customer is not coming because of us as a shop but because of the colleagues inside the store,” he explained. “That is why we try to put as many colleagues back into the shops as we can.”

Fankhauser described the company’s restructuring of its retail estate as “business as usual”, as part of Cook’s ongoing review into its network.