Hays Travel is to cut up to 878 jobs out of a total workforce of 4,500 people, the firm announced.

The high street travel agency has branches across the country, including in Bournemouth, Poole, Westbourne, Christchurch, New Milton and Lymington town centres.

It bought Bournemouth-based Bath Travel in 2013 and rescued hundreds of Thomas Cook stores after its rival went into liquidation last year.

The travel company said the government’s decision to advise against non-essential travel and reimpose quarantine requirements for holidays to Spain “triggered the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of holidays”.

Owners John and Irene Hays said: “We are devastated that after all of our efforts and the huge investment we’ve made we now face losing some of our valued employees, through no fault of their own.

“Following the decision to ban travel to Spain and the changes in furlough conditions coming at the same time, we have had no choice.

“We are also devastated for everyone who may lose their job and we will do all we can in consultations to help them, as we focus on retaining as many people as possible and rebuilding consumer confidence through our renowned friendly and knowledgeable customer service.”