ABTA defends high street after statistics released
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ABTA has defended the high street after new analysis found an average of 20 shops closed each day last year.
The association’s chief executive Mark Tanzer said it was “nonsense to assert that the high street is dead” although it estimated its members had seen a 4% drop in retail offices.
However he said many businesses had turned to other models and there has been a lot of consolidation.
“ABTA estimates that in the last three years, those offices with an ABTA number have reduced from 5215 to 4991 – a decline of about 4%. Clearly, there are still a very large number of travel businesses operating successfully on the high street,” said Tanzer.
“Our consumer trends research shows that people value the help of a human being and the reassurance of booking a holiday face-to-face. The key for travel businesses is to make sure that they have options and expertise available to support customers however they like to book,” he added.
The defence came after analysis from PwC and Local Data Company found an average of 20 stores were closing every day last year, with the numbers worse towards the end of the year following high profile collapses.
