Tripbod.com, the travel website offering travellers a ‘friend at the other end’, is launching a unique Welcome to Britain service for VisitBritain’s Online Shop customers this week.
Since September 2009 Tripbod.com has connected travellers with a trusted local person in their destination for personal advice & help planning their trip– saving them time, money and hassle when they arrive.
To date Tripbod has concentrated on providing pre-departure trip planning advice online, but from this week local UK Tripbods will extend their offering to include personalised welcome experiences, launching exclusively on www.visitbritainshop.com
In the form of two new products – ‘Meet and greet’ and ‘Explore’ – local UK Tripbods will be on hand to welcome visitors personally to Britain, sharing with them their first-hand experience of living in the destination.
Vicky Birnage, Head of eCommerce at Visit Britain, said “As a global brand we are delighted to be able to connect with the grass roots and offer VisitBritain Shop Customers a truly local service. We know that our travellers all have their own personal interests so it’s important to be able to offer tailored local advice thus enhancing their welcome to Britain. By working with local Tripbods we endeavour to make every visit to the UK a personal and authentic one.”
These new services will launch in five pilot areas – London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and The Lake District –starting at £35 for a personal hour long Meet-and-greet. Like the current service, every experience offered will be unique, based on the individual visitor and their interests. Staying true to Tripbod’s ethos of fair trade also, the lion’s share of revenues will go to the local Tripbods.
Tripbod Director, Liz Sutcliffe, says ‘Tripbod local Welcome Experiences are particularly special because they help visitors connect directly with the grass-roots of Britain and lift the lid on authentic local life. Working with VisitBritain allows us to extend our unique service beyond the pre-departure stage and bring the human connection we offer to life by sharing memorable travel experiences with our customers in person.’
