High street travel agencies will shut their doors on Monday’s bank holiday to mark the Queen’s funeral.
Travel businesses also plan to pause social media activity and marketing on September 19 to allow staff to pay their respects.
Among the agencies to have confirmed they will close on Monday are Hays Travel, Miles Morgan Travel, Your Co-op Travel and Carrick Travel, Althams, Baldwins Travel and Spear Travels. Tui’s high-street branches will also be shut, and all marketing activity paused on Monday, while its contact centre will operate bank holiday hours.
Consortia head offices confirmed the vast majority of their members were also planning to shut on the day.
The Travel Network Group, which is also closing its head office on the bank holiday, has created posters for its agents to use to let customers know, with the wording: “Following the announcement of the state funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Monday 19th September, we have taken the decision to close on this day as a mark of respect. We will reopen as normal on Tuesday 20th September.”
Advantage Travel Partnership said “only a couple” were not closing but were letting staff watch the funeral so would not be open normal hours while social media marketing plans were mixed, with some agents not posting and others being selective.
Many agency groups paused their marketing immediately after news of the Queen’s death and plan to re-start activity fully after the funeral.
Pictured: sign on Your Co-op Travel doors to let customers know of shops’ closures
Spear Travels chairman Peter Cookson said: “We put a sympathy message out on social media the night the Queen died. We paused all social media and e-shots straight away and won’t resume until after the funeral. All shops are closed as mark of respect on Monday.”
A Hays Travel spokeswoman said: “Social activity will be paused on Monday and the branch TV screens will show an image reflecting that we are closed.”
Hays branches will also post a message on social media to alert customers to the bank holiday closure.
A poster featuring in Miles Morgan Travel branches said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty the Queen. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences are with her family at this very sad time.
“As a mark of respect, and to ensure our staff are able to pay their respects, this shop will be closed on Monday 19th September.”
Sutton Travel managing director Andy Tomlinson said he felt it was right to close as a mark of respect to the Queen.
“We used to open on bank holidays but we don’t any more and even if we did, this bank holiday feels a bit different. It feels appropriate to close this coming Monday,” he said.
The agency stopped its social media activity after the Queen’s death and plans to pause it again over the weekend until the funeral is over.
Tomlinson said footfall had also slowed during the week in a similar way to quieter periods over Christmas or during large sporting events. “The customers who would normally be out, many of whom are retired, are probably watching the TV coverage,” he added.
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