London - World Travel Holdings, owner of WorldTravelDirect.com
, is buying uTravel`s customer database and web site.
It is purchasing them from Xilerate, the new-media division of United News & Media.
WTH will gain the uTravel web address ( www.utravel.co.uk ) and access to its database of some 46,000 registered customers.
Last month, Xilerate shut down the uTravel business, blaming the competitive online holiday market for its decision.
A spokesman for WTH said: “These customers are of particular interest to WTH since they are not only proven users of the web but also have a demonstrable interest in travel. UTravel has agreed to email these customers, to make them aware of the transaction and to direct them to WTH`s consumer site WorldTravelDirect.com.”
Jonathan Biles, chief executive of WTH, explained: “During the last quarter, we doubled the registered customers of our consumer site WorldTravelDirect.com and increased gross travel sales by over 50 per cent on a flat marketing spend. By gaining access to uTravel`s large customer database we should significantly increase our sales stream in the current and forthcoming quarters.”
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