Travel technology specialist Comtec plans to go head to head with existing price comparison and meta search sites with the relaunch of its Travel.co.uk site. A limited company is being created for the revamped Travel.co.uk although it will continue to use Comtec technology. The site has been under review since a beta version was launched…
Travel.co.uk to target meta search market
Travel technology specialist Comtec plans to go head to head with existing price comparison and meta search sites with the relaunch of its Travel.co.uk site.
A limited company is being created for the revamped Travel.co.uk although it will continue to use Comtec technology.
The site has been under review since a beta version was launched last April to gauge market reaction particularly from trade suppliers.
The review was led by former Teletext Holidays managing director, Ray Mason.
Mason also plans to bring someone over from Comtec to look after technical development as well as recruit someone from outside the company for a senior marketing role.
He plans to create a service, which he said would “take search and product comparison sites to a new level”.
The design and build of the revamped Travel.co.uk has been outsourced to website specialist zolv.com because of the size of the project as well as its B2C nature.
Mason has been tasked with creating a site, which incorporates Comtec’s technology, leverages the value of the URL and provides travel suppliers with incremental sales.
“The new website goes two steps further than any other site in the market place. No-one else is doing what we have planned. People in the space are focused on flights and hotels which is easy to bring together,” he added.
Mason hinted that travel.co.uk would offer simultaneous searching of dynamic packaging and traditional packages.
He also said the fulfilment side would be different to what existing B2C price comparison sites are doing.
Mason added that through the Comtec technology travel.co.uk would be able to offer direct access to more than 72 operator brands as well as flight companies and bedbanks.
The release of the revamped site is planned for May when the package holiday phase will be launched.
Comtec has held the Travel.co.uk URL for about 10 years but did nothing with it prior to the beta version last April.
The beta version was also launched simultaneously in Second Life last year. The virtual “agency” allowed avatars to link directly to existing supplier and operator websites from within Second Life.
