Implementation of an optimal omnichannel payments solution for travel agencies and their Ecommerce website

The Bluvacanze Group

Vivere&Viaggiare (means "Living & Traveling" in Italian) with Bluvacanze is the brand that represents the largest travel agency in Italy. With over 320 travel agencies operating under the Bluvacanze and Vivere & Viaggiare brands, they are the only Italian tourism distribution brand that has been on the market for over 20 years. All agencies are led by highly qualified professionals, who are able to offer a complete range of services and solutions in collaboration with the best tour operator partners. Vivere&Viaggiare with Bluvacanze is part of the Bluvacanze Group, one of the largest and most important Italian tourism companies, which in addition owns the Blunet brands, the Tour Operator Going and Cisalpina Tours, leading Italian company in Business Travel Management. The Bluvacanze Group is 100% owned by MSC Group Mediterranean Shipping Company.

The challenge

In Bluvacanze's O2O - Online2Offline - vision, offline will continue to support the Ecommerce world in the consumer's decision and purchase process. This strategy means that when travelers inquire and book online, they are invited and interested by the company to experience the added value of the agency for personalization and assistance, giving them the opportunity to feel the security of a specialized travel organization. This is one of the reasons for Bluvacanze's decision to adopt payment tools that meet the needs of customers who are used to buy online but in the meanwhile still appreciate the benefits of human contact during the purchase process, which is something that happens often with Millennials.

The solution: payment solutions ready to be integrated in a single environment

Today Bluvacanze has payment solutions fully integrated with different sales management systems. In-store solution for payment management with cards and digital wallets was combined with advanced tools for cash payments, such as cashin machines that allow the agency to deposit cash directly to the bank account to have it immediately available digitally*. For online payments Bluvacanze has implemented Axerve Ecommerce Solutions, integrated with their software management system via API. We have provided support to Bluvacanze in choosing the most suitable solutions for their needs, identifying the best tools and configurations to achieve their business objectives.

*The in-store and cashin services are not available at this moment outside of Italy, this case examines Bluvacanze travel agencies in Italy.