Travelocity.com Introduces Suite of Trip Expert Tools

New Advice Tools Take Guess Work Out of Picking the Perfect Destination, Cruise or Vacation Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Want to find the one destination in the world that best fits your personality? Looking for variety because you're tired of going to the same place year after year? Want to know if you've chosen a destination that will satisfy your interests?

Deciding where to go has never been easier. Travelocity.com Inc. (Nasdaq: TVLY), the leading travel Web site, has launched its new suite of Trip Expert tools to help members plan their next trip. These innovative advice tools empower today's savvy travelers to easily and confidently make vacation decisions.

Launched in partnership with VacationCoach, Inc., a leader in expert-based travel personalization, these new destination recommendation tools eliminate the complexity of researching and selecting leisure options and products by recommending ideal vacation spots, cruises and vacation packages that uniquely fit the needs of each traveler.

"Our Trip Expert tools are powerful resources for members who need ideas for planning their next vacation," said Terrell B. Jones, president and chief executive officer of Travelocity.com. "Until now, this level of service and expertise has not been available via any travel Internet site. We are pleased to provide Travelocity.com members with personalized recommendations to help them plan the best vacation."

Found under the Dream, Plan, Go section of the site and soon on the homepage, the Trip Expert suite of tools includes three features:

• Express Request -- allows members to tell Travelocity.com about their travel plans and what they are looking for in a vacation -- arts, shopping, history, urban locations, and more. Travelocity.com's experts are then able to recommend the best destinations for members.
• Someplace Similar -- provides members with a listing of new destinations that's comparable to one of their favorite places. For instance, if you like to shop in New York City, the Someplace Similar feature will provide you with other destinations such as Los Angeles, Boston and Toronto where you can shop 'til you drop.
• Destination Check -- tells members if their selected destination is the best choice, based on what they're looking for in a vacation -- whether it's shopping, visiting a spa, playing golf, skiing or sun bathing. Simply tell the "Expert" where you are traveling to and it will give you a snapshot of the destination as well as detailed information on what to expect, offbeat sites to see and even what not to forget.

"We're pleased to team with Travelocity.com, the leader in online travel, to afford their members this one-of-a-kind method for custom-designing their next vacation," said Rob Roberts, CEO and head coach, of VacationCoach.

In addition to the Trip Expert suite of tools found in Dream, Plan, Go, Travelocity.com also has added "Expert" recommendations in its Cruises and Vacations sections. The Cruise and Vacation Experts provide members with the best choices in vacation packages and cruises based on each member's preferences. Members use a sliding scale to indicate their desired vacation attributes as type of destination, level of activity desired, estimated budget, type of social happenings and accommodation preferences."

Much like an experienced travel agent would communicate the reasons why they would recommend a specific product, the score detail section of the Cruise and Vacation Expert tools provides the reasons supporting each suggestion," said Chris McAndrews, senior vice president, leisure travel and partner marketing, of Travelocity.com. "For instance, the Cruise tool takes into account how appropriate a particular ship is for families, singles or seniors, as well as how great the activities they would like are at the ports-of-call being visited. Likewise, the Vacation tool searches for the proper accommodations, the best destinations and whether or not the traveler prefers a guided tour or a do-it-yourself itinerary."

About Travelocity.com
Travelocity.com Inc. (Nasdaq: TVLY), a database-driven travel marketing and transaction company, provides Internet and wireless reservations information for more than 700 airlines, more than 50,000 hotels and more than 50 car rental companies. In addition, Travelocity.com offers more than 6,500 vacation packages, tour and cruise departures and a vast database of destination and interest information. Travelocity.com employs more than 1,000 customer service professionals, has sold more than 19 million airline tickets and has registered more than 30 million members.

About VacationCoach, Inc.
Headquartered in Maynard, MA, VacationCoach, Inc. is a leader in expert-based travel personalization, delivering self-service, personal advice applications, which facilitate decision-making and brand selection. VacationCoach has developed the patent-pending Me-Print profiling and advice technology. The company's expert leisure advice and unbiased travel planning resources are showcased at www.VacationCoach.com/docs/partner.html .

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SOURCE Travelocity.com Inc.