Addressing some 270 independent agents at the operator’s VIP conference (November 26-29), Heapy said the ongoing demise of the high street was “very upsetting” and called for urgent government action to turn around Britain’s ailing town centres.

He said independent travel agents, in particular, we among the businesses that gave the most back to towns and high streets.

“You, as independent travel agents, provide a fantastic service to customers,” said Heapy. “You train people very well, you provide customers with advice, knowledge and excitement and that’s what will make them book. We’ve very proud to work with you guys on the high street. We’re going to be talking about ways we can get more people into your shops.”

Heapy though said it will action on a larger scale to affect change, and called out local councils for their often conflicting policies that have adversely affected business.

“In my local town, lots of shops have shut and the high street is becoming a quieter place,” said Heapy. “We’ve got the local council with their extortionate parking prices - these are contributing to the demise of the high street.

“I want to see high streets as a much more vibrant place. We’re all lobbying the government to get a strategy to get things back on track. This is something the government is going to have to do. The high street is still a very important place.”

Heapy added the closure of big shops in recent years had dissuaded people from coming to the high street. “They were always a big draw to get people in because they went shopping and then visited other shops,” he said.

“This is a threat. We need to get people back on the high street.”