SOURCE: Viator, Inc.
New Member Profiles, Traveler Personalization Tools and Facebook and Twitter Integration Enhance Growing Viator Community
SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwire – September 22, 2010) – Viator.com, the leading resource for researching and booking more than 5,500 trip activities and experiences at the best prices, has expanded its travel offering to include deeper destination and attraction information, an open platform for submitting traveler recommendations and tips, and more ways to personalize the trip planning experience through new member profiles.
Viator designed the site’s new content and features to help travelers answer some key questions: What are the top sights and attractions in a destination? What are the best things to see and do to meet my interests? What tips will help me have the most amazing experience? Viator now features expert information on over 3,000 attractions, with direct links to local interactive maps. This information is complemented by member reviews and photos, both from customers who have experienced Viator activities, and now, from all Viator members who have experienced any iconic site or attraction and want to share their experience. Viator members will also be able to provide destination-specific traveler recommendations — everything from suggested itineraries, tips for families, restaurant recommendations and more. With a more prolific Facebook and Twitter integration available throughout the site, Viator members can also share their reviews and photos or their favorite Viator tours and attractions with their own personal social network.
“The team at Viator has successfully connected more than three million travelers to the best local tour operators and most reputable travel experiences around the world. We are very excited with the connection we are now building among travelers, a group that has historically sought out ways to share their opinions and lessons learned with each other,” said Barrie Seidenberg, CEO and president of Viator.com. “Viator provides travelers with comprehensive travel planning resources and the addition of traveler-submitted content expands the value we deliver to our customers. With more than two million monthly site visitors, we expect that this content will grow exponentially and become a leading resource for the kind of local information most important to travelers.”
NEW VIATOR.COM FEATURES
Attraction-focused content: Travelers may know they want to see the Eiffel Tower or the Grand Canyon, but they may not have any idea what else there is to do in the destinations that host those attractions. New content built around thousands of attractions worldwide will benefit travelers both before travel and in-destination with:
- Suggested itineraries from travel experts, fellow travelers and locals
- Information on what to do based on traveler preferences
- Dynamic local maps identifying points of interest and attractions
- Attraction and destination specific Deals & Special Offers highlighted for quick and easy reference
Expanded User-Generated Content: The recommendations, reviews and suggestions submitted by travelers who have created a Viator account and profile complement the website’s already robust collection of more than 170,000 tour and activity reviews and photos, many of which now play a major role in the look of the new site.
Member Accounts: Anyone can create a Viator.com member account whether or not they have ever made a booking. Viator customers creating an account for the first time will have their profile automatically pre-populated with previously submitted reviews and photos as well as recent tour activity saving them a great deal of time and effort. In addition to personalizing member accounts with traveler preferences, members have the ability to:
- Create public profiles that are easily accessible to other Viator members
- Request changes and cancellations to their bookings online
Facebook and Twitter Integration: Travelers who are active among the social network sites will benefit from Viator’s expanded integration with Facebook and Twitter.
- Travelers can easily share tours, reviews, photos, suggested itineraries and other information available on Viator.com directly with their network of Facebook friends and Twitter followers via links throughout the site.
Viator plans to launch additional features over the coming months. For the latest updates, travelers can become a member of Viator.com, or subscribe to the Viator Travel Blog (http://travelblog.viator.com). Travelers can also connect with Viator on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ViatorTravel), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ViatorTours), Foursquare (http://foursquare.com/user/viatortravel), Gowalla (http://gowalla.com/users/Viator), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/ViatorTravel) and Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/viator-things-to-do/).
NOTE TO TRAVEL EDITORS/REPORTERS: For screen graphics and photographs contact [email protected] or visit the Viator Media Center and the constantly expanding visual library.
About Viator
Viator is the world’s leading online resource for travel experiences, providing access to more than 5,500 tours, attractions and activities in 450-plus destinations in 75 countries. Viator — the Latin word for traveler — offers travelers a one-stop shop to plan, research and book trip activities with helpful resources like more than 170,000 traveler reviews and photos, star ratings, suggested itineraries and the Viator Travel Blog. Viator’s in-house travel experts have picked respected and trusted local operators to ensure a quality experience, value and service, all backed by Viator’s low-price guarantee. Founded in 1995, Viator sells its products directly to consumers at www.viator.com and through its global network of more than 1,000 affiliates that include major hotel and airline companies, online travel agencies, city-specific sites and more. Through its collection of company operated and affiliated sites, including seven European-language sites, Viator welcomes more than 2.5 million visitors per month. Viator is headquartered in San Francisco with regional offices in Sydney, London and Las Vegas.
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