NEEDHAM, Mass.- TripAdvisor, the search engine that delivers the world’s opinion on travel, today announced the launch of its new search and directory services. TripAdvisor mines the wealth of the Web for the most relevant and personalized travel information to assist consumers in the planning of where to go, what to do, and where to stay on their next vacation.
“The Internet represents a vast resource of information for travelers, but finding relevant information on a travel destination is very difficult,” remarked Stephen Kaufer, CEO of TripAdvisor. “TripAdvisor’s unique services provide instant access to the best articles, reviews and personal opinions about ‘where to go, what to do, and where to stay’ when researching travel on the Web.”
Searching for information on the Web can be frustrating. According to Forrester Research, 61% of all Web users have performed travel research online and 71% of those consumers visit multiple sites in search of relevant information. To understand the frustration Web users experience, consider the results for the search request “New York” using a popular search engine-7.8 million matches! With no filtering or classifying of content, most travel planners abandon online search efforts after viewing the first four results.
To solve this problem, TripAdvisor’s best-of-breed search and directory services offer both interactive search capabilities and a targeted directory structure that focuses solely on travel. TripAdvisor’s robust and scalable database is filled with relevant, unbiased, and “hard to find” travel information catalogued by destination and travel interests.
Providing a powerful research tool to travel consumers, TripAdvisor’s patent-pending technologies search, filter, sort and rank information, to return the most complete and relevant information on a travel destination-quickly and easily. Search results include links to online information from three types of web-based sources: authoritative content from newspapers, travel magazines, and guide books; ‘net comments culled from message boards, personal home pages, travelogues, and rating sites; and TripAdvisor user-contributed reviews.
Information is organized by source and ranked by relevancy, based on a user’s personal profile. Completing a profile that includes travel interests and demographics enables a user to receive personalized destination information. Compiling “the world’s opinion” within one web site provides travel consumers with the information they need to make informed purchase decisions more quickly and easily.
TripAdvisor offers a co-branded, customizable version of its award-winning vertical search and directory solution to portals, travel sites and travel service providers. All content in the TripAdvisor database is XML-based, allowing for easy integration and customization with a partner’s existing travel content and site design. “By licensing TripAdvisor’s search and directory services, partners can offer their customers a complete solution for online travel planning and purchase,” said Langley Steinert, TripAdvisor’s Chairman and Co-founder.
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