Just two months after announcing shop closures and the loss of 2,500 jobs in the UK, Thomas Cook has unveiled an interesting tie-up for a virtual service via Triporati.
Boss Harriet Green describes it as an "industry leading venture" which will provide expert advice and "personalised recommendations based on customer's profiles".
It would be good to know is whether there's any scope for Thomas Cook's existing bank of travel experts, who could probably provide great recommendations to customers, to fit in with the Triporati tie-up.
In half-year results for the six months ending 31 March, 2013, Green talks about the web being one of the most "important growth areas and cultural changes" for the business - interesting terminology for a company that launched it's online presence 15 years ago.
She also reiterates ambitions to have the highest share of bookings online for a major tour operator and says the group plans to achieve a "50% penetration rate in 2015".
Anyway, while press reports say the Triporati deal will see a "virtual agent" on the operator's website in less than two weeks (28 May), a quick Google search reveals the above.
Green's comments echo those made last week by TUI boss Peter Long, about driving online sales across all businesses, during its half-year update.
They also come days after TUI-brand First Choice released its Happiness Included online service.
At least the tour operator's fortunes appear to be improving with Green saying it's not only 'back but better' as it reports a reduction in pre-tax losses to £391m and a reduction in net debt of just over £175m to £1.2 billion (full presentation here).