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Agents need radical makeover, says property expert
High street travel agents are simply notice boards which do not encourage people to walk in, according to one of the UK’s leading property experts.
John Bywater, managing director of Hammerson UK Properties, which developed Birmingham’s Bullring, said travel retailers were out of date.
Speaking at the Institute of Travel & Tourism conference in Barbados, Bywater showed various slides of travel agents, including Thomson and First Choice, and a photograph of a glass Costa Coffee outlet.
“The agents don’t say ‘come inside’. They are simply notice boards that are not inviting and I think that is a mistake.
“The look of the Costa Coffee shop says ‘come in and relax’.
“You’ve got to recognize that your proposition starts and finishes with customers, that consumers crave new experiences and you have to make your shops exciting.”
Report by Jeremy Skidmore
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