Head of retail Paula Barrett said some of the potential new shops would be in the Leeds area as fulfilment of owner John Hays’ previously announced strategy.

In November last year he told the Hays Independent Group Conference that the agency could open as many as 40 branches along the M62 corridor which had been identified as underserved by the trade.

Now, Barrett said the company is hoping to open some of the new shops in that area, while other new ones could soon appear on the south coast following the success of two of the new stores.

She said a Tiverton branch opened in May while an Exmouth store opened in March, adding: “Because we took over the Bath Travel shops (in the south) we’re expanding in the region where we already have shops.

“We’re getting quite a bit of long-haul business (in Tiverton and Exmouth) and the general bucket and spade market.”

Barrett added bricks and mortar remain a popular booking channel for customers, especially in the wake of last week’s failure of the Lowcosttravelgroup.

She said: “People like to still buy holidays on the high street as opposed to online. We’ve had a very successful weekend businesswise. I think people have moved online but they see that (failure) and think ‘I will go back to the old agents’.

“They think it is safer.”