Travelstart moves beyond OTA model

T
RAVELSTART has
relaunched its internal
travel consultancy as
Travelstart Live (previously
Travelbar), which will focus on
person-to-person service and
assist customers booking
complex routings, as well as
multi-city and multi-pax trips.
Head of sales, Linda Balme,
said: “It’s a significant shift
internally and in how we want
to communicate with our
customers. Travelstart Live
is a new channel to engage
customers where our digital
platforms do not fit their
shopping behaviour.”
Linda said the move
closed the gap that existed
between human support and
ecommerce. Travelstart will
use analytics to automatically
prompt customers to
Travelstart Live.
Travelstart Live comprises 26
travel agents, with an average
of nine years’ experience
per consultant. The team is
currently being expanded and
will include a dedicated group
bookings team.
This is a significant
departure from the OTA’s 2011
claim that the shift to online
travel shopping in South Africa
was increasing. At the time,
Travelstart caused outrage
by posting survey results
claiming that “traditional travel
agencies take South Africans
for a ride”.