More: Big Interview: Andrew Flintham, Tui’s new UK boss
The role of travel agents may evolve to focus more on customer service and less on selling holidays, according to the travel giant’s new UK boss.
Andrew Flintham said the business would always need “people to talk to customers” but the day-to-day role of its retail agents “may evolve”.
In his first interview since being appointed UK managing director, Flintham said a “blend” of distribution channels was required but insisted the future of the Tui retail estate was strong.
“We’ll always need people to talk to our customers,” he said.
“They are the face of the business. There’s a huge amount of loyalty to our agents. I’m always impressed when I go into a Tui shop and see customers come in asking for a specific consultant and saying they will come back if he or she happens to be on their day off.
“What our agents do day-to-day may evolve. They are currently a sales team but they could become more of a customer service team.
“We want to make booking and taking a holiday with us as easy as possible, and so if there is a place customers can go to get advice, book excursions and extras, and get their boarding passes printed – that could be really appealing for some. There are many people who live completely online, but there are plenty who don’t, and so our retail shops could help them.”
Tui currently operates 600 shops. Flintham said the company was “continually reviewing” its high street locations and “remixing” where they are.
Commenting on third-party sales, Flintham acknowledged Tui had a direct-sell approach but stressed it would always consider working with more independents where it made sense.
“It’s not a fixed piece. That’s not it for ever,” he said. “There’s a chance we will work with others if we need support in certain regions or with certain products.”
Flintham, formerly Tui’s commercial director, succeeded Nick Longman as head of Tui in the UK on March 1.