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Shops to offer coffee and reference sections to woo customers
High street agents must turn shops into relaxed environments offering coffee and a reference section to take their share of the growing travel market.
Research from marketing intelligence firm Mintel shows consumers are still big fans of travel agencies for research but this does not translate into bookings.
The study also shows consumers are interested in buying other things from travel agents such as theatre tickets or sessions on a dry ski slope.
Mintel senior travel analyst Richard Cope said: “The growth in tourism and trips is enormous and travel is now the spending priority above any other item but the bookings on the high street are disappointing.”
He said agents need to drop the hard sale approach and build up a relationship with consumers over a series of visits.
“It’s about creating an environment where people can spend more time and provide facilities to do their own research.”
Advantage managing director John McEwan said offering coffee to customers could increase the length of time they will wait to see a consultant by 12 to 13 minutes.
McEwan added: “The other thing successful agents do is retail through other retailers such as promotions through petrol stations. It becomes reciprocal and there is quite a lot of it happening.”
And Hotels4u.com sales and marketing director John Harding said agents needed to be brave and allocate part of their shops for internet access points.
“The strange anomaly is that the biggest use of the web is for travel but when you walk into a travel agency you do not see a screen anywhere. Agents should empower customers to do the hard work and give them a reason to go in.”
Cope also said agents needed to be more aggressive with financial terms and offer ‘go now, pay later’ financial deals.
“It should be like buying a new suite and they could also target the youth market and let them pay in instalments.”
Report by Linda Fox
Linda Fox
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