SELF-CATERING cottages operator Wales Holidays has seen business soar by 10% since it started taking bookings over the Internet.
Julian Burrell, senior partner of self-catering cottages operator Wales Holidays, told delegates at the recent Getting Welsh Tourism Wired conference in Newtown that their Web site had generated more sales than any other direct-sell distribution channel
He said selling on-line had made all the difference to his business, with his product on sale 24hrs a day at a low cost.
Burrell, whose company turns over ú3.5m a year, said: “In January our on-line bookings reached over ú13,000 a week – sometimes taking more than ú2,000 a day. The Internet is now our biggest source of customers. Pound for pound, it outperforms our advertising in the Sunday papers, Radio Times, direct mail and Teletext. In effect, we have extended our opening times to 24hrs a day, seven days a week, for a modest portion of our annual marketing costs.”
Burrell said the site (www.wales-holidays.co.uk), which also allows direct booking by credit card, will eventually mean that the company will save on postage costs and the thousands of brochures printed and distributed annually.
“We reach overseas markets otherwise too expensive and serve customers whatever the time difference.”