Web check

Web check

Inghams and Airtours offer lakes and mountains product on-line through their Internet home pages (www.inghams.co.uk and www.airtours.com), but Thomson is the first major operator to offer a dedicated lakes and mountains site. We logged on for a test drive.

Address:www.thomsonlakesandmountains.co.uk.

Homepage: looks stylish and is quick to load. Holidays can be selected via three main sections. Details on special offers and specialist holidays such as cruises, twin-centres and weddings are alsoincluded.

information given: the information in the brochure is here. All resorts are featured, with details of excursions and activities.

Ease of Use: simple – just point and click.

On-line booking facility: yes. It’s simple to use, although getting through to the payment section is bit long-winded.

Special features for agents: a separate log-in section allows agents to book holidays at a commissionable rate.

Overall impression: the site is an on-line version of Thomson’s Lakes and Mountains brochure. More information on the resorts and activities, as well as hotlinks to related sites, would enhance it. The Austriasection has a link to the Tyrol tourist board’s site, so why don’t we see links to France or Italy in the appropriate places? There is room on a website for a lot more information than in a brochure but it has not been used. However, as a booking tool, it’s hard to fault; there’s no reason why travel agents or the public would have any difficulty using it.