The brand claims to be the first “major high street travel retailer” to offer this.

The interest-free scheme, which will be available at Thomas Cook and Co-operative Travel stores, is already available for bookings made online.

It applies to bookings for winter 2016, summer 2017 and long-haul winter 2017-18 package holidays operated under Thomas Cook, Thomas Cook Signature, Thomas Cook City Escapes, Airtours, Manos or Club 18-30, when booked 22 weeks or more before departure.

The deposit for customers who opt to pay in installments will be £25 per person instead of £200 per person.

The scheme is being promoted in Thomas Cook and Co-operative Travel store windows throughout September.

Kathryn Darbandi, director of detail and customer experience for Thomas Cook UK & Ireland said: “As a pioneer in travel we are continually looking for new ways to serve our customers better.

“Our travel agent feedback showed that the online direct debit scheme would be a valuable tool in our stores also, to make budgeting for a holiday easier by spreading the cost across monthly installments.”

Customers provide their travel agent with the bank account number and sort code for the lead name on the booking and specify which date of the month they would like each payment to be taken.

Eligibility is based on a minimum of two payments before the tour operator final balance due date, which is 14 weeks prior to the departure.