TRAVEL company TUI has confirmed it is to open a new Bournemouth branch later this summer. 

The airline operator, formerly called Thomson Airways, said it hopes to open a new branch in Castlepoint shopping centre in June. 

Currently, there is recruitment on its website for 10 to 12 travel agents, with roles going for managers, assistant managers and travel advisors with salaries up to £26,500. 

Jamie Vaughan, TUI regional sales manager for the south west, said: “We are very excited to be recruiting for 10 to 12 travel agents as we open a brand new TUI retail store in Castlepoint. 

“Planning for the opening of this new store is currently underway, and we are expecting to open the doors and welcome customers in June this year.” 

Bournemouth Echo: Tui said it expects underlying earnings to jump by at least a quarter over 2023-24 (PA)

In the job application, TUI said it is looking to turn each successful applicant into a “destination expert so that you can recommend and sell holidays, cruise, UK breaks and additional products”.

TUI also has a travel agent branch in Wimborne Road, Winton, and another in Poole town centre. It had a shop in Saxon Square, Christchurch, until it was closed in May 2021.  

It also offers flights from Bournemouth Airport to Cyprus, Corfu, Crete, Kefalonia, Rhodes, Zante, Ibiza, Lanzarote and Menorca, as well as Antalya and Dalaman, both in Turkey.  

Last month, the business said its pre-tax loss was cut from £232.3m in the final three months of 2022 to £87.9m in the same period in 2023.  

During that period, TUI made its “highest ever revenues” of £3.7 billion, up 14.7 per cent on a year earlier.  

Around 3.5 million customers used TUI’s services, which include planes, cruise ships and package holidays.  

That is a six per cent increase on the year before, despite prices increasing.  

Chief executive Sebastian Ebel said: “We are on track, we are gaining customers and we are growing. We are accelerating our transformation quarter by quarter.  

“We have goals that we are consistently implementing. In a persistently challenging environment, people’s high willingness to travel ensures strong economic development in all areas of the group.  

“This reiterates our expectations for the year as a whole. We want to increase our revenue by at least 10 per cent and our operating result by at least 25 per cent.”