New-look website unveiled for Kuoni consumers

Tuesday, 23 Jan, 2007 0

A new-look consumer website has been launched by Kuoni but its trade one will not be unveiled until after the peak booking season.

The tour operator decided to delay the relaunch of its trade website to avoid confusion for agents.

“We will probably launch it in early April,” said product director Mark Robson. “While consumers might only use the site once or twice a year, agents are accessing it regularly and have got used to the way it works. We didn’t want to risk agents booking elsewhere because they found it was different.”

The tour operator said around 15% of its bookings are now coming online and the figure is growing by 25%-40% each year.

“We have no objective to be 100% online,” said managing director Sue Biggs. “Our online percentage will not be as big as other tour operators due to the complexity of our tailor-made business.”

The highest value online booking was for £46,319 for two families travelling to the Maldives over Christmas.

The average value of its online bookings was £2,898 and 984 agents accessed the site on an average day in January.

The new consumer website has a fresher, cleaner look and is easier to navigate. The booking process has been streamlined.

It features videos from Antigua, Barbados and the Maldives and larger images. During this year, another 400 videos will be added, along with a web chat facility.

Kuoni’s tailormade booking engine, Kuoni Wizard, will be rolled out worldwide. At present, it is only for North America and Australasia.

By Bev Fearis

Bev

Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.

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