The Navtara x Reelo Story: Building Loyalty That Lasts Beyond Vacations

The Navtara Journey

In 1986, Carlos Tavora made a bold bet: to open a 150-seat South Indian restaurant in Goa with zero restaurant experience. That audacious leap created Navtara, which grew from a single location to Goa's most trusted vegetarian dining empire spanning multiple locations across Mapusa and beyond. For nearly four decades, Navtara has been the go-to choice for both locals seeking consistent quality and tourists discovering Goa's best vegetarian cuisine.

With their established base of loyal locals and impressed tourists, Navtara sought to implement a system that would both reward their decades-long supporters and encourage visiting tourists to return on future Goa trips.

The Challenge: Building Loyalty in a Tourist Destination

Navtara faced the unique challenge every destination restaurant knows: how do you build lasting loyalty when half your customers literally fly home after their vacation? They had passionate local supporters who'd been coming for years, but lacked a formalized system to recognize their loyalty or incentivize tourists to return.

The Solution: The 20% Cashback Revolution

Step 1: Bold Loyalty Rewards

Navtara implemented the "Navtara Loyalty Club" with a bold 20% cashback on every purchase. This generous approach created an unforgettable incentive for customers to return, standing out dramatically from typical 5-10% industry programs.

Step 2: Simple Yet Memorable System

The loyalty program featured straightforward cashback mechanics - no confusing points, no complicated tiers, just pure cashback that worked like real money. This simplicity resonated perfectly with vacation-minded tourists and busy locals alike.

Step 3: Dual Audience Strategy

Through the loyalty system, Navtara was able to serve two distinct customer segments simultaneously. Locals felt recognized for their years of support, while tourists gained compelling reasons to choose Navtara again on future Goa trips.

Step 4: Return Visit Amplification

The generous 20% cashback created a natural return cycle. Customers didn't just earn rewards - they actively planned future visits around their accumulated cashback, transforming one-time tourists into repeat visitors.

The Results

While most restaurant loyalty programs see only 15-25% redemption rates, Navtara achieved an exceptional 31.46% redemption rate.

Navtara generated an impressive ₹34,482,145 in revenue directly through loyalty members, proving that bold rewards create bold results.

Bottomline

Navtara's success proves that in competitive tourist destinations, the restaurant willing to be most generous with loyalty wins. By implementing a 20% cashback program that served both locals and tourists, they transformed the traditional challenge of destination dining into their greatest competitive advantage.

For any restaurant in a tourist destination looking to maximize revenue and customer retention, implementing a boldly generous loyalty program should be the first step!