Thomson tour holiday operator Tui Travel today announced plans to close 100 of its UK-based travel stores.

The restructuring comes six months after the company's creation from the merger of Tui 's travel division and First Choice.

The new business, which has 1,100 shops, has not said how many jobs will be affected by the closure move, which is part of an additional £50m of cost savings announced by Tui Travel today.

The merger between First Choice and German-owned Tui created Europe's biggest travel group with 48,000 staff and 27 million customers.

Thomson has been the biggest UK tour operator since 1974. Its holiday airline - formerly Britannia Airways - is now Coventry-based Thomsonfly.

Formerly called Owners Abroad, First Choice has its headquarters at Crawley in West Sussex. Its airline was formerly called Air 2000 and is now First Choice Airways.

Thomson holiday brands include Simply Travel, Headwater Holidays, Crystal Holidays, Thomson Ski and Snowboarding, Thomson Lakes and Mountains, and Jetsave.

First Choice's brands include Sovereign, which has had a number of owners over the package holiday era and is one of the best-known names in the travel business.

Today's cuts follow a 100-day review led by chief executive Peter Long, who previously ran the First Choice business.

Tui said at the time of the merger that it was committed to building up internet sales and saving £100m a year through costs and streamlining its retail shop operation.

This figure was increased to £150m a year today, with £40m of the increase relating to the UK.

The company said further cost savings had been identified in its airline network as well as in general administrative costs, although it did not give details about any impact on jobs.

Today's closure plan is the latest to hit the travel industry following Thomas Cook's announcement last June that it would cut around 2,800 jobs by the middle of this year. The restructuring included the closure of 150 shops and six offices, following the firm's £8bn tie-up with former Airtours business MyTravel.

Meanwhile, Tui Travel said current trading remained encouraging with strong consumer demand across all its markets.

Tui said UK mainstream sales for this winter were up 3%, with 16% fewer holidays left to sell than last year. Sales for this summer are currently 8% higher with 18% left to sell.

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.