Burghausen, Munich – Germany's largest travel agency cooperation Raiffeisen-Tours-Kooperation (rtk) is joining PAYBACK, Germany's most popular bonus programme. From 2 August 2010, more than 4,000 travel agencies across Germany will reward customers with PAYBACK points when they book a holiday. “With this partnership, we are not only offering all rtk travel agencies access to an appealing and successful customer loyalty programme, but also giving them an innovative opportunity to put themselves head and shoulders above the competition. At the same time, we are setting new standards in the tough tourism market,” says RT-Reisen Executive Director Thomas Bösl.
“Over 60 percent of German households have a PAYBACK card, and our opinion polls have shown that millions of members would be keen to collect points when booking their holiday. Our brand stands for added value and for fair deals that are low in price. This cooperation with rtk means we can now offer this in the tourism sector, too. In turn, rtk benefits from the PAYBACK communication channels and the opportunity to communicate directly with customers”, adds Bernhard Brugger, CEO of PAYBACK GmbH. PAYBACK sends out 96 million direct mailings and 272 million e-mail newsletters a year, and its brand is represented in 8,550 partner stores. As a result, PAYBACK is the largest communications platform in Germany. The project with RTK means PAYBACK can now extend its total number of outlets to 12,550.
rtk expects its involvement with PAYBACK to boost customer loyalty at its travel agencies. With that in mind, the partners are kick-starting their cooperation with a large-scale communications offensive. As part of the integrated launch campaign, around 15 million mailings will be sent out in the first few weeks alone. Posters in all participating travel agencies, a comprehensive online campaign and even a TV advert will encourage customers to book their holidays in rtk agencies and enjoy the opportunity to collect PAYBACK points at the same time.