Opodo is launching it’s Italy site - www.opodo.it—and builds on the strengths of the Opodo European platform, tailored to meet the needs of the Italian customer.Opodo first entered the Italian market in February 2005 when it acquired the online travel company Eviaggi.

Throughout 2005 the organisation worked with the Eviaggi team to develop an Opodo Italy site, combining the local knowledge and expertise of the Italian team, with the pan-European strength of the Opodo brand.

“Opodo.it will offer new and exciting opportunities for both our customers and partners,” said Roberto Riccio, Country Manager, Opodo Italy, “We launch with an incredible range of offers from 500 airlines, more than 65,000 hotels, car rentals, cruises and more than 17,000 package holidays.

We will continually seek to enhance our service over time, with a series of additional products specifically personalised to meet the needs of the Italian consumer.”

Opodo is a key player in the European online travel market, with operations in Germany, the UK, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Spain and Italy.

Simon Vincent, CEO of Opodo commented, “The launch of the Opodo site in Italy is in line with our aggressive growth strategy which over the last year has seen us move from operating in three markets to having a presence in nine markets, grow from 250 staff to over 800, more than double in size to €1 billion gross sales and move into the tour operating business via the purchases of Quest Travel in the UK and Karavel in France.”

The Italian online travel market is predicted to grow rapidly over the next year, with latest forecasts indicating that it will reach €1.3 billion by 2006.
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