What with Thomas Cook planning to sell holidays on line, and Thomson Travel pledging a £100m investment in internet projects, it might seem increasingly as if the web is the only way to wander. So you might question the wisdom of launching a new travel service not from cyberspace, but from the decidedly un-virtual location of Watford.

Nonetheless, that's what Virgin, itself no stranger to the wonders of webbery, is doing early this autumn with the unveiling of a 20,000 sq ft superstore, the flagship of the latest Branson brainchild, Virgin Destinations.

"Destinations will challenge the way the travel industry works," says Tim Felix, information technology director of Virgin Destinations. "It will be a real high-street presence and, while there are already large travel agencies and holiday hypermarkets, this will be much more customer-focused than the straightforward supermarket-style experience."

It's a little odd to find an IT director promoting a bricks-and mortar-business, but Felix is firm on the need for high-street presence. "E-commerce is clearly a fast-growing business area, but the purchase of a holiday is a very complicated business, and customers need reassurance, someone to talk to.

"Small outlets may begin to diminish, but there is definitely a niche there in terms of larger outlets."

Any why Watford? "We've analysed the demographics, and within a 20-minute radius there is an affluent population that spends heavily on holidays."

Virgin sees its unique selling points as service (hopefully, more Virgin Airways than Virgin Trains), and independence. "Virgin Destinations aims to make the customer feel more involved, which means training staff more heavily and matching customer needs to staff experience," says Felix. "If you have a family and you're looking for a holiday in the States, we would try and put you together with a staff member with their own experience of US family holidays.

"We won't just be selling a Virgin product, we will be totally independent, something that most travel agencies aren't since they are owned by the big four tour operators. Our product lines will be wider and, as well as selling holidays, Virgin will be offering goods, services, and retail shopping from the store."

This is not to say that technology won't play a part in the high-street push. The in-store technology has already been sourced and will revolve around computer touchscreens from a company called XN. "Touchscreen kiosks act like virtual travel agents," says Barrie MacCarthy, XN's director of marketing. "You'll be able to come in and browse where you're going before you go."

Virgin Destinations refuses to be drawn on how it may or may not tie in with an online strategy. "One logical way of doing things would be to have an online presence in parallel, with both business supplementing each other," says MacCarthy.

The in-shop terminals could benefit from looking out at the world through the web, while the web could be used to steer people towards the wonders of Watford - and indeed elsewhere around the M25 if Virgin's new flagship floats.