Travelocity Aims to Boost Sales with Rich Media Promotions

Another day, another new venture for Travelocity.com Inc., which is
aggressively pursuing new promotional and business opportunities. On Wednesday the
travel site signed a broadcast services agreement with Yahoo! Inc.

The latest deal will enable Travelocity members “to experience video and
audio travel and shopping information through cutting-edge Internet
broadcasting centers,” the company said.

Yahoo! said its business services division, Yahoo!
Broadcast Services, will develop and deploy the broadcast centers, creating a
rich media environment similar to interactive television for travel
information and video content. Financial arrangements were not disclosed.

Just yesterday, Fort Worth, Texas-based Travelocity signed
a deal with Site59.com
to launch a new last-minute travel center
featuring discounted weekend getaways and air fares.

Travelocity said the new multi-media broadcast sites, expected to launch
later this summer, will bring together its video, audio, photo images and
text information about thousands of travel locations creating comprehensive
travel information sites.

Customers will have one location where they can access and view channels with
hotel, resort, shopping and country- or city-specific information.

“The new broadcast centers…will give us the kind of dynamic interaction and
video offering that consumers prefer when making travel decisions,” said
Michael Altomari, vice president for online distribution at Travelocity.

Altomari is convinced that rich media makes a difference. “Customers have
told us time and again that video and rich media information helps them make
their purchases…Customers have upgraded cabins and selected resorts and
hotel properties based on what they’ve seen through rich media information
and video,” he said.

The rich-media sites will be based on a new marketing services application,
launched earlier this week, Yahoo! said. The new applications add flexibility
to control content and more quickly post updated video and audio information.

Get the Free Newsletter!

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

News Around the Web