There were 358 closures in 2017 in the retail travel agency sector, with only 32 new openings, figures from the Local Data Company (LDC) show. The net loss was higher than banks and financial institutions, which were down 201 retail units; and estate agents, down 102 units, making travel agents the “biggest faller”. Another big faller, fashion and general clothing, lost 713 units; but with 399 openings.

LDC gathered data from 500 towns, which showed a total of 5,855 outlets closed on Great Britain’s high streets in 2017 at a rate of 16 a day, compared with 15 a day in 2016. The number of new openings fell from 4,534 in 2016 to 4,083 last year.

Lisa Hooker, PwC’s consumer markets leader, said last year had been “tough” for the retail sector as wages had not kept pace with inflation. “Digital offerings are increasingly becoming make or break in areas like fashion, but also for banks, travel agents and estate agents – all of which closed a significant number of high street outlets last year,” she said.

However, the figures do not estimate how many homeworking businesses have been opened in travel or other sectors. Indeed, the number of Travel Counsellors franchisees has doubled in the last three years, with more than 300 people setting up their own businesses with the company last year. UK managing director Kirsten Hughes said: “In our recent survey the most popular reason for becoming a Travel Counsellor was the flexibility this presents. To see our numbers double in the last three years is proof that there is a future for the caring travel consultant.”