CABLE giant NTL is rolling out new technology which will allow the Internet to be transferred onto television to enable interactive on-line booking of travel at the touch of a button.
The company will modify the sites to make them more televisual and will choose which sites can be viewed.
For the travel section of the service, the Travel Channel, NTL has signed up media conglomerate EMAP’s travel Web site, south London travel agency Travelselect and ABC Traveltime, which has designed a site for interactive TV.
Between the three, package holidays and flights from tour operators such as Kuoni and Unijet will be available as well as cheap, late-availability deals and scheduled flights. Initially, only flights and car hire will be bookable on-line.
To complement the service, resort guides will also give viewers access to additional travel information. The technology involves a set-top box and handset as well as an optional keyboard to send e-mails. NTL is currently marketing the service which will be available from March 31.
Ian Gosling, channel manager for the Travel Channel, said: “We are moving the sale of travel away from the bricks and mortar of travel agencies to people’s own homes.”
But he said agents should progress by putting their own sites on the channel, making them information providers.