Tui UK has opened a new travel agency concession store within clothing retailer Next at Rushden Lakes Shopping Centre in Northants.
It brings the number of Tui concession stores at Next branches to four: Rushden; Preston; Birstall; and Sheffield, which opened in 2019.
Tui announced at the end of July its plans to close 166 high street travel agencies in the UK and Ireland, leaving it with a retail network of 350 shops.
The company has relocated its Rushden and Wellingborough shops into the new unit at Next in Rushden Lakes Shopping Centre, which includes a welcome bar and travel money desk, due to open at a later date.
There are eight staff at the new Rushden concession, including five who moved from the now closed Rushden and Wellingborough shops. These closures were planned prior to Tui’s announcement to close 166 stores.
Tui has also reopened its Preston concession store. Tui’s Friargate store relocated to the Next shop in Fishergate, Preston, in March but was only open for four days before it had to shut due to the UK lockdown. It has a team of seven staff, all of whom previously worked in the Friargate high street shop.
Customers must wait outside the new concessions and be invited to one of the desks, which are sanitised between every visit and separated by Perspex screens. All concessions are of a similar size with around four desks at each.
Tui retail director Belinda Vazquez said: “As always, the health and safety of our customers is our first priority. We have some great deals available for those who want to get away and our teams in both [Rushden and Preston] stores are ready to reassure customers old and new about the measures we have put in place to make sure they can still have a safe, enjoyable and relaxing holiday.”
