Banbury-based Midlands Travel launched aferry.to last November after e-commerce specialist Entee Global Services licensed its technology, which allows consumers to make on-line real-time bookings, to the agency.

Midlands Travel manager Sarah Pitman said: "Since we introduced the website we have gone from being a £1.2 million business to a £2 million business, and bookings are increasing 50% each month.

The move has been so successful that the agency - which is rebranding to The Travel Gateway - now only opens to the public between 10am and 2pm. The rest of the time is spent focusing on handling business that comes in through the website. Eventually Pitman expects to wind down the traditional side of the agency.

"We have been an agency for 28 years so we didn't want to just close and leave our regular clients stranded. We hope we can build confidence in our customers and encourage them to come to us on-line through aferry.to or through our other website www.thetravelgateway.com which is currently being developed."

Entee commercial director Nick Rowley said his company had no plans to license the technology to other agencies, but it will supply the technology to other operators and agencies that can then rebrand it to suit their own websites.

Aferry.to allows customers to make bookings with every UK ferry operator except Fjord Line and DFDS Seaways. The technology also powers ferry operators' own websites, including P&O Portsmouth, P&O North Sea Ferries and Stena Line.

Rowley said £15 million of the £50 million of UK ferry bookings made last year came through Entee.

For further details contact:

Nick Rowley
Entee Global Services Ltd
+44 1235 845100
nickr@entee.co.uk
www.entee.co.uk