An online travel company opening physical doors, on purpose. Bangladesh's first travel experience centre in Banani, then Chattogram, then Motijheel.
Travel is a big purchase. GoZayaan kept meeting travellers who wanted detailed consultation and guidance before booking, the kind of conversation an app can't fully replace. Losing them to offline agents meant losing them to the old way of travelling.
The goal was never to open an offline sales outlet. It was to build an icebreaker between online and offline: travel experts trained not just to consult, but to help travellers get comfortable booking online, so the next trip doesn't need a visit at all.
I managed the retail build myself, working with the architects and contractors to turn a floor in Banani into something closer to a lounge than an agency: travel experts on hand to cut waiting times, personal consultation over coffee, and help booking flights, hotels and tour packages.
The second centre opened in Chattogram, where I also led customer acquisition for the new zone. The launch spoke the city's own dialect: “আই গেয়্যি আরা ওনারার লাই ওনারার শহরত”, roughly we've come to your city, for you.
The format has since become a template. The third centre opened in Motijheel, Dhaka's corporate cluster, putting the same walk-in experience next to the people who book the most business travel.
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