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'In a world full of uncertainty and online scams, customers increasingly value the human touch'

Opinion
Sandra Corkin
20 October 2025

Oasis Travel's Sandra Corkin reflects on what it is that makes travel agencies such an enduring feature of the UK's high streets, and why they can – and will – thrive anew.

Oasis Travel's Sandra Corkin
(Credit: Oasis Travel)

Corkin: 'Our shops must be more than functional offices' (Credit: Oasis Travel)

We have, for years, heard predictions about the decline and death of the high street. Yet across the UK, we are seeing a resurgence in the presence of the high street travel agent.

For more than 40 years, our own business – Oasis Travel – has been rooted in the high street, and now has eight branches. And while we have diversified by taking online enquiries, utilising social media and setting up a small homeworking division, our physical shops remain at the heart of our identity.

They are what make us recognisable to our clients and are a part of the local community.