THOMSON has launched its new on-line travel agency thefirstresort.com which features 8m in-house holidays and 26 rival operators.
The move is part of a £100m two-year e-commerce initiative by the operator (Travel Weekly March 6).
The site, which went live last Tuesday but is still undergoing tests, features holidays from operators including Airtours, First Choice, JMC, British Airways Holidays, Virgin Sun, Kuoni, Bellair, Club 18-30, Jetsave and Tradewinds.
Thomson group development director John Wells said thefirstresort.com was the first of 15 new sites due to be rolled out within the next four to six weeks – some promoting in-house brands and others aimed at different market segments like children, young clubbers and independent travellers. This move will bring Thomson’s number of sites to more than 50, but these will soon be consolidated.
Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Marketing Travel Industry Group seminar in London last week, Wells said: “I don’t believe that 50 Web sites will have the coherence that is necessary. We will end up having at least 10 broad concepts covering a number of brands.”
He said that Thomson needed to catch up with more established e-commerce players. He admitted the company had not focused on the sector until Roger Burnell became acting chief executive last year, but stressed that present chief executive Charles Gurassa was very committed to it.
Wells is accountable for the success of Thomson’s e-commerce initiative, although it is also the responsibility of the newly created change management group. At the end of the year, managing director of UK distribution Nigel David will take charge of it.
“The new structure is designed to eliminate turf wars. Everyone is now clear what they are responsible for,” said Wells.
n Contains resort guides including 2min videos.
n Has a suitcase section with a checklist of what to pack.
n Shopping facilities allow you to buy items such as sunglasses, cameras, guidebooks, luggage, maps and toiletries.
n A travel helpers section offers advice on health, passports and visas, getting to airports and insurance.
n A postcard to the editor feature allows users to review their holidays and get them published on the site.