Wigan travel agency shuts after nightmare year for industry

The business has been in its Mesnes Street premises since 2006 but Mr Taylor has decided it will not re-open.

Whitley businessman Mr Taylor described the "devastating" year the travel industry has endured due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

He said the sheer length of the Covid-19 crisis has been the major problem fortravel businesses and said the constantly-changing advice on where people can travel has not helped.

Mr Taylor said: “It has been heartbreaking and a wrenching time. For the travel industry this has been a devastating year. As a sector we’ve been hung out to dry.

“I think there have been a lot of knee-jerk reactions with the travel corridors. In summer Spain briefly came back onto the list and was then put back as a no-go. That destroyed consumer confidence overnight.

“With this going on for 10 months the impact has just been too much.

“I’ve seen the demise and decline of the high street year on year but Covid has moved that on 10 years. It saddens me because I have enjoyed it.”

Mr Taylor said one problem he faced is that when customers wanted refunds for holidays they couldn’t go on they were effectively taking back his firm’s earnings from previous months.

That was in addition to Kiwi Travel having no prospect of income while travel was essentially terminated.

Another issue was charge-backs from credit card companies against the travel firm for services which were unable to be delivered. This, however, was a problem as Kiwi Travel had passed the balances onto the tour operators.

In some cases, Mr Taylor had to threaten court action when charge-backs were being made against him even though clients had their refunds.

Mr Taylor says the prospect for travel in 2021 continues to look uncertain and believes many older people will postpone their plans further due to uncertainty around Brexit, particularly with regard to valid health insurance policies when abroad.

However, despite that Mr Taylor is staying in the industry, working with online concern Travel Counsellors, and says he thinks the sector has a bright long-term future.

He said: “I have to be optimistic. There is an inherent love of sipping a cocktail in the sun, trying some different cuisines, seeing some different landmarks, meeting people overseas.

“Travel is good for the mind and body, there’s no doubt about that, and the world will ultimately travel again, although the way they do it will probably change.”

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here and viewing our offers ..