Tui is planning to close 48 UK stores as the travel industry continues to struggle amid travel restrictions.

273 employees will be affected by the changes with the tour operator offering new roles in other locations.

The move comes as the travel industry and high street “are both facing unprecedented pressure” due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In July last year the UK’s biggest tour operator announced that 166 of its shops closed amid the health crisis would not be reopening when lockdown restrictions end.

The firm has not yet published a list of the latest potential store closures.

But it issued a statement which read: “We want to be in the best position to provide excellent customer service, whether it’s in a high street store, over the telephone or online, and will continue to put the customer at the heart of what we do.

“It is therefore imperative that we make these difficult cost decisions and do our best to look after our colleagues during such unprecedented uncertainty.

“We believe Covid-19 has only strengthened a change in purchasing habits, with people looking to buy online or wishing to speak with travel experts from the comfort of their own home.

“We have world class travel advisors at Tui, so we hope many of them will become homeworkers and continue to offer the personalised service we know our customers value.”

The travel and tourism industry has been one of the most hard-hit by Government travel restrictions in response to the pandemic.

The Anglo-German firm’s revenues in the three months to the end of 2020 fell from 3.86 billion euros (£3.39 billion) to just 468.1 million euros (£410 million) – a drop of 88%.

Lockdown restrictions remain in place meaning Tui is unable to send Brits on holiday.