Public left confused by content of travel sites

Survey reveals on-line booking sites need to be more user friendly

Public left confused by content of travel sites

Report by LEEWINTER

TRAVEL Internet sites offering package holidays and flights are baffling consumers, according to research conducted among the public.

Web consultancy Clear Verdict spent 10 months looking at 650 Internet sites that offered an on-line booking as part of the service.

The data for the survey was collected from Air Travel Organiser’s Licence lists, ABTA registers, Internet directories, search engines, travel portals and the media.

Checks were made on a monthly basis and companies were graded on performances such as download speed, destination information and on-line availability.

The final checks for the survey were made last month.

A handful of the Internet sites have been singled out for special praise, but most of them were criticised for being too hard to navigate or for not containing up-to-date relevant information.

Clear Verdict manager Mirabelle Stobbs said: “You cannot expect to find a flawless Web site yet but many could be made to be a bit more user friendly.

“Some seemed to be more interested in displaying their technical prowess, rather than trying to meet the needs of the customer.”

Topping the poll for the best summer sun package holidays was thefirstresort.com closely followed by thomascook.co.uk, jmc.com, just.co.uk and lastminute.com.

The best flight site was skydeals.co.uk, followed by travelstore.com, travelocity.co.uk, sunmaster.co.uk and worldtraveldirect.com.

Fellow Clear Verdict manager David Crone said: “The poorer sites are difficult to navigate, have out-of-date information and fail to functioncorrectly.

“It is frustrating to be offered a flight only to discover the information is old or has long sold out.

“This does not happen on any of the top performing Internet sites but it is quite a common practice amongst many of the sites that were reviewed for this survey.”

Top five package holiday Web sites

1. thefirstresort.com Score: 8/10.

Comments: easy to use and offers the widest choice of deals.

2. thomascook.co.uk Score: 7/10.

Comments: designed with the consumer in mind, the on-line booking process is short and easy to use.

3. jmc.com

Score: 6.8/10.

Comments: provides ample information on resorts and accommodation but slow to download.

4. just.co.uk

Score: 6.7/10.

Comments: provides an easy-to-use search engine and includes in-depth accommodation details but the range of products is limited to self-catering only.

5. lastminute.com Score: 6.6/10.

Comments: fast to download with extensive site security but it is difficult to find holidays to book on-line.

1. skydeals.co.uk

Score: 7/10.

Comments: the only Web site to have a single search that identifies scheduled and charter flights; design is clear, uncluttered and very user friendly.

2. travelstore.com

Score: 6.8/10.

Comments: well constructed with added features to attract customers, including bonus scheme for regular customers; searching for flights takes longer than most.

3. travelocity.co.uk

Score: 6.8/10.

Comments: incorporates a very flexible system of searching, with excellent travel information but it is confusing and slow as result of excessive clicking.

4. sunmaster.co.ukScore: 6.7/10.

Comments: comprehensive travel information but searching for a flight could be made easier and less time consuming. Information could be better organised – it is often necessary to scroll through long pages of text.

5. worldtraveldirect.com

Score:6.7/10.

Comments: the site is well designed but it is let down by the navigation of the search and booking processes.

Top five flight Web sites

Frustrating: many travel sites do not contain current or updated information