ON-LINE travel agency Expedia is looking to expand into mainland Europe following the success of its UK site which is generating more than £2m of business each month.
Launched last November, the Microsoft-owned UK site now has 450,000 regular users with a look-to-book ratio of 8%. More than 600,000 users visit the site each day and it averages around 2,000 new registrations a day.
Potential destinations include the Benelux countries, Austria, Switzerland andScandinavia.
Expedia UK manager James Vaile said: “We run rings around rival sites because we localise our sites to the country the user comes from. Localisation is key and our unique selling point.
“The Benelux countries have good computer penetration and Information Technology savviness while Austria and Switzerland are obvious candidates because we already have a German site launching in September. Scandinavia is also an obvious one because English is commonly spoken there.”
Expedia currently has sites in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Meanwhile, the company is upgrading its UK site, including a revamped Seat Pinpointer which allows users to choose where they want to sit on an aircraft.
It is also revising its Fare Tracker and Fare Express system, which allows previous users to book in three clicks while Holiday Shop, Expedia’s first stab at selling packages, has been improved.