Kuoni will increase the number of its own-branded shops from seven to 10 and open a shopping centre ‘pod’ by July as it targets up to 25 UK stores.
Deals have been signed to open two stores, in Solihull and Cheltenham, and negotiations are underway for a third new store in the north of England.
The pod will be in the Westfield London Shopping Centre in Hammersmith. Once the new outlets are opened, a decision will be made on further openings.
Having a range of direct-sell options was one of the reasons cited for the UK seeing a smaller decline in turnover than other Kuoni markets in year-end results for December 31, 2009.
The operator saw a decline in turnover for the UK from £413.4 million in 2008 to £327.7 million in 2009.
Gross group profits fell from £664 million to £508 million.
Kuoni group chief executive Peter Rothwell denied the operator wanted to largely increase the proportion of UK direct sales from the current level of 58%.
He said: “The strongest business for us is the upmarket independent owner-manager travel agents who know their customers extremely well.”