On Thomson’s Website you will be able to talk to celebrities, as well as industry experts about holidays by a weekly live web chat.Starting from this Thursday, by clicking onto www.thomson.co.uk and then the web chat link, holiday makers are able to pick the brains of leading Thomson experts about anything they need to know about going away and there are even a few celebrities thrown into the mix ready to face the public’s questions.

This new weekly web chat feature is following the success of last year’s one off web chat with Russell Amerasekara during which Thomson’s website was inundated with questions from customers eager to get their holiday queries solved by someone so well travelled and knowledgeable as Russell.

Each week there will be a different web chat theme, specifically relevant to the particular expert/celebrity.

For the first web chat of 2006 travel expert and television presenter, Russell Amerasekara returns once again to the chat room, armed with useful tips and general information about cruise holidays, a topic which he is more than comfortable with, having been a well established personality in the travel industry for many years.

From what to wear at dinner and activities on board to what to do if sea sickness strikes, Russell will do his best to answer as many questions as he can, put a few minds at rest as well as hopefully stirring interest in a few people who may have previously been unsure as to whether cruise holidays were really for them.

Russell will be live on line for an hour at 12.30pm on Thursday 5th January.

Following weeks will also see amongst others Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen and top Thomson destination specialists take the hot seat for web chats centred around family holidays and popular current destinations such as Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

Web chats in the coming months will be the customers’ choice as Thomson is asking them to request topics they feel are particularly relevant for them.

This latest addition to the Thomson site is the most recent in a string of new features including video brochures, of destinations and accommodation, a Google Earth overlay of Thomson Holidays and holiday reviews from real customers.

Graham Donoghue, head of new media for Thomson, said; “With the use of internet and in particular broadband continually on the rise, internet bookers are always on the look out for new ways of finding out more information and advice on all aspects of holidaying abroad. We are constantly looking at innovative ways of reaching the customer and making the experience of booking and researching a holiday more exciting.

What better way of finding out what’s needed than to speak to the holiday experts personally from the comfort of your own home, at the click of a button?”
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