Advantage contends agents are revitalising the UK’s high streets where more than 10,000 shops closed last year at a cost of nearly 120,000 jobs, according to the Centre for Retail Research.

The consortium, though, believes agents are bucking this trend, with 17% of respondents to a recent Advantage survey stating they were looking to open a new branch in 2024.

This growth, said Advantage chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said, is coming primarily from agencies that have weathered the Covid crisis, banked savings and now recognise the additional support many consumers are seeking.

Compared with 2019, branch openings among existing Advantage members are up by 55%; 22 new branches have opened since the start of the pandemic, 50% of which have come in the past 12 months.

"Agents are realising there is a void and a market for them," said Lo Bue-Said on Wednesday (15 May) while addressing media at the Advantage conference in Cancun (15-18 May). She added this expansion was more prominent among businesses with existing premises than new entrants onto the high street.

Lo Bue-Said said Advantage’s UK network now turned over £7.6 billion a year, to which new membership has contributed £108 million new sales turnover over the past year.

She also revealed Advantage now has a larger high street presence than it did pre-pandemic. "It feels like there’s one on every corner now," she said. "It’s keeping the high street alive – we would be bold enough to say that."

Advantage cites several examples of member businesses actively pursuing expansion such as Fred Olsen Travel, which has set itself a target of 25 stores by the end of 2025.

Retail director Paul Hardwick said post-Covid, "the entire industry really has come out stronger". "The pandemic showed the real worth of a decent travel agent," said Hardwick. "There has never been greater value in being an agent."

The survey revealed nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents to its survey said the majority of their customers were in the 40 to 59 age bracket.

"We’re getting lots of new customers, people who wouldn’t have previously booked with a travel agent and we’re also seeing a lot of new types of holidays being booked," Hardwick continued, highlighting demand for multi-generational holidays and big package trips, such as honeymoons and cruises.

Another poised for rapid expansion is Sunlounger Travel, which opened its first branch in 2019. "[We] now have plans for 20-25 locations over the next five years," said managing director Iain Kirkbright, who urged the government to do more to help Britain’s high streets.

“As far as we can tell, the cost of living crisis has not hit the travel industry as hard as others, but for us and our expansion, it’s important to go into towns that are already thriving – there’s no point in going to set up on a dying high street," he continued.

"For there to be sustained growth on all high streets, the government should continue the rates review they are undertaking at the moment. The current rate reductions make it a lot more affordable and helps people grow and develop."

‘No reason not to do something today’

Advantage chief commercial officer Kelly Cookes said there were several more nuanced trends behind members’ desire to expand on the high street, with some new customers – particularly younger clients – being driven towards agencies by recommendations from family and friends.

Another, said Cookes, was agents converting online enquiries – particularly through social media – into in-store consultations. Other businesses, she said, were testing the water with pop-ups in areas of high footfall.

"Agents are integral to returning the UK high street to its former glory," said Cookes, with new branches meeting growing demand for in-person sales. "People are looking to immerse themselves in the full end-to-end experience of booking holidays."

Lo Bue-Said also played down the prospect of the travel retail bubble bursting, charactering agents’ growth as investments in their future underpinned by prudent business planning. "Some are risk averse, some are bullish," she added, stressing there was "no reason not to do something today".