| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 19/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 38 |
| Copyright: Other |
Pow Wow: Travel industry association
Pow Wow: Travel industry association
Pow Wow: Travel industry association
New site to provide one-stop shop
THE Travel Industry Association of America is in the final stages of producing separate Web sites to support both the travel industry and the consumer.The new consumer site, called seeamerica.org, is due to begin operation later this year.
It will link all 54 US state and territorial travel offices, every major city visitor bureau, hotel chain and airline, as well as hundreds of attractions.
A TIA spokesman at Pow Wow said: “It is expected to be the one complete source for all US travel information and will include details of all of our 2,600 US travel industry members.
“The site can be searched by location, price, company type and travel theme and will consolidate, in one place, the thousands of sites that already exist for travel within the US.”
Implementation of the second phase, early next year, will include a visitor guide with detailed maps of the US, a national calendar of events, background on each US state and territory, a travel photo gallery, weather information, airports, customs and immigration information and foreign currency exchange rates.
TIA senior vice-president of marketing Betsy Bromberg O’Rourke said: “There are thousands of Internet sites run by US cities, states, airlines and booking services. But there is no single, all-inclusive, easy-to-navigate system that links all these sources together.
“We want travellers to be able to explore the USA through this one site.”
The final phase will feature a Hot Deals section in which US travel companies can feature discounted offers across the product range.
At Pow Wow, buyers and sellers were able to check out a new system called Pow Wow On-line, a new virtual marketplace allowing registered delegates to continue conducting business through the Internet on a year-round basis.
Tour operators can search the site for specific US supplier product at the rates they are looking for, as well sending e-mails for specific requirements.
Takeoff:hundreds of attractions such as the Kennedy Space Centre will be highlighted on the new Web site