Chief executive Cooper told TTG the brands’ leadership teams were making "all the right decisions to make sure their trade reputation is enhanced" through investment in their teams and Classic’s holiday portfolio.

"It now sells long-haul and more itinerary-based product, together with more boutique stuff," said Cooper. "The breadth of portfolio Classic is able to bring to the high street is just fantastic."

Cooper’s comments came as On the Beach on Thursday (9 December) posted a group-wide loss of £36.7 million during its 2020/21 full year, an improvement on a £46.3 million loss during 2019/20 when the pandemic took hold.

On the Beach acquired Classic for around £20 million in August 2018 with the aim of using the group’s tech platforms to tap into the millions of short-haul beach holidays booked offline every year.

Besides investing in the brand’s portfolio, it built and launched a new online booking portal – Classic Package Holidays – to make it easier for agents to book mainstream beach holiday product.

Classic took on Si Morris-Green as director of agency sales last November, who has overseen a wide-reaching restructure of the Classic trade team to create distinct channels for different aspects of trade support, including field sales, homeworkers and consortia.

"The uptake has been strong throughout the pandemic, and no doubt as we see travel recover, we hope to benefit from that," Cooper continued. "There’s a reciprocal nature to the relationship; treat the agents better and they will come to you more often."