Travel agency Now Lets Travel plans to add three shops across the northeast of England from October.
The Brilliant Travel member currently has a call centre in Sunderland and a retail store in Jesmond, Newcastle, but rising customer demand has encouraged owner Paul Johnstone to look at opening stores in Wallsend, Peterlee and Stockton-on-Tees.
Johnstone (pictured centre) opened his first city-centre branch last December and recruited seven employees to work in the store.
He believes 15 new positions will be created across the three new stores, which were originally scheduled to open in 2020 but plans were put on hold due to the pandemic.
Now Lets Travel is looking to fill team leader positions and travel consultant roles.
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Johnstone said: “This is still a really challenging period for the industry. It’s not going to be easy to open these stores while recovery remains slower than we would like.
“However, I firmly believe that the future of travel and its recovery lies with the high street travel agent as customers need advice more than ever, particularly given the changes we have seen over the last 18 months.
“The people in our industry are genuinely amazing and I know it’s been a very difficult year for many.
“I hope I can offer new opportunities and stable career options to talented travel professionals who, through no fault of their own, have perhaps lost jobs because of the pandemic or have had to temporarily leave the industry.”
Linda Pyle, director of Brilliant Travel, which is part of the Barrhead Travel Group, said: “I’ve seen Paul grow his business from its initial days on social media to now, where he has a thriving retail estate and a great team behind him.
“His passion for both travel and his people have been the key to his success.”