Greece specialist Sunvil Holidays and an angel investor have joined forces to invest £250,000 in Travelwhere as the map-based brochure content site plans the next phase of its development. Travelwhere is looking to become an affiliate marketing partner for tour operators and has geared itself up to offer a range of models including cost-per-acquisition and cost-per-click.…
Travelwhere wins £250K in funding
Greece specialist Sunvil Holidays and an angel investor have joined forces to invest £250,000 in Travelwhere as the map-based brochure content site plans the next phase of its development.
Travelwhere is looking to become an affiliate marketing partner for tour operators and has geared itself up to offer a range of models including cost-per-acquisition and cost-per-click.
The travelwhere site has been relaunched with additional brochure content and new functionality including the ‘Add To My Page’ area for storing relevant brochure pages and a flight search and booking tool via a third party.
The latest development, which is still in testing, is the Linkline feature enabling consumers to dial a dedicated line and speak to an expert or tour operator reservation agent.
“Phone enquiries are more qualified prospects, as industry figures suggest conversion ratios between 15-20% from phone calls, compared to 1% online. The Linkline interface displays a generic phone number that maps, and tracks, the enquirer’s call to an operator’s reservations department, or a product ‘expert’,” said founder and director Ian Champness.
In addition to offering operators online brochure promotion using page-turning technology, the site also offers them a green alternative to print brochures.
Travelwhere converts operators’ brochures to its electronic format for free.
Sunvil Holidays director Noel Josephides and an angel investor have taken a stake in the company in return for their investment.
Josephides said: “I like Travelwhere because it is a thorough, heavyweight development – not just something, which looks good on the surface. Ian has worked on this for a long time and I think it has got a future. It also has some good developments to come and offers something for everyone whether you are the operator or agent.”
He also predicted the e-brochure side of the site could save Sunvil and other operators huge sums in terms of brochure production and distribution.
As well as developing the site for affiliate marketing services, Champness is also looking at potential agency developments to enable consultants to integrate the site into the selling process.
