Tana Travel is to open an in-store Internet café in a bid to attract web bookers to the agency.
The Stratford-upon-Avon-based agency plans to introduce five flatscreen computers to the waiting area of the agency. For a nominal fee, clients can search all travel-related sites in the agency while enjoying a coffee or tea. The fee would be refunded if the customer booked a holiday through Tana Travel.
Managing director Neil Basnett said he was not concerned about people using the Internet café to compare prices and then book direct, as local clients are “cash-rich and time-poor” and would value the opportunity to research online with the help of an experienced agent.
Basnett highlighted a recent booking of £50,000 for a holiday in February, where the customer came in and booked the holiday on the spot, as an example of the affluence and the level of trust in the agency.
The Internet café could be launched in two months after staff backed the plan last week.
“The Internet is here to stay and we have to accept and embrace it,” the Midconsort chairman said.
“People are researching and booking holidays on the web. This way, we make it easy for them and have a chance of controlling it and getting the booking at the end of it.”
Thomson has announced plans for a similar initiative. However, consumers would only be able to search and book on the Thomson website.