Go Travel had four branches – one in the Blackheath area of south-east London, along with shops in Chislehurst, Petts Wood and Locksbottom in Kent.

However, it closed its doors in October 2020 after 21 years, blaming the pandemic and a lack of government support. The business also sold its coachholidays.co.uk brand to Just Go! Holidays.

Go Travel’s Chislehurst branch, though, reopened a year ago in its pre-Covid location, while Go Travel’s tour operator, Cultural Breaks, has begun taking clients again.

Director Mike Roberts told TTG the “sheer amount of refunds and chargebacks” led him to put Go Travel into liquidation. “We had to keep on a load of staff just to do refunds with no income,” he said.

Roberts hailed the help and support the business received from the Advantage Travel Partnership "a Godsend", but said it had not been enough to avert closure.

After ensuring all clients were refunded, Roberts bought back the trading name and data from Go Travel’s liquidators and created a new business in March 2021, with Cultural Breaks reopening in July.

“We had Cultural Breaks for 19 years and the clients – average age 80-85 – were really, really happy because there’s nothing really similar in the market," he explained.

Go Travel, meanwhile, took its first "new" booking in January. “We’ve been very, very pleased with how it’s taken off – it’s been much better than we thought," Roberts continued.

Operating under Advantage Managed Services, the Chislehurst branch has reopened with experienced manager Sally Camies at the helm, who has been with the brand since 2008.

“Our customers have been brilliant – they were devastated for us,” said Roberts, who – while ruling out a return to some of Go Travel’s other locations – did not rule out future expansion.

“We won’t reopen the others, because they have been handed back to the landlords," he said. "Whether we will expand, I don’t know, we will have to see how the next year goes. We are, though, looking to expand the tour operation."

Roberts said he had never thought of quitting travel despite the pandemic. “I’d been in the industry 22 years, what would I do?" he said. "My brothers are in the business, as was one of my aunts, so I was trying to get the family back in business, not just myself.

“I have so many friends in the industry that had such a hard time. Yes, we lost a lot as a family, but I know people that lost even more. It was a horrible time.”