news
New Sky Travel website launches with backing of leading travel operators
Jan 22 2008
As part of the continued evolution of Sky’s online portfolio, Sky.com/travel has re-launched as a comprehensive travel portal. Sky has formed new TV and web partnerships with best in class operators - including Expedia, Cosmos Holidays, Fast Track Cruise and Premier Holidays – and installed a dedicated editorial team for the newly launched site.
Under the guidance of the newly appointed editor, Kevin Ashbridge, the site will allow visitors to research and book their holiday all in one place. In addition to providing users with access to great value holidays from its new commercial partners, the site will provide a wealth of rich editorial content, ranging from travel news and advice to original inspirational features. Sky Travel’s extensive video library forms the base for a new comprehensive destination guides section, which combines video, images and textual information about destinations. In addition, tailored hotel reviews from Tripadvisor have been integrated across the site, to provide users with a further perspective as they research and book holidays.
The announcement of the new commercial partnerships marks a renewed focus in Sky Travel’s commercial strategy. Prior to partnering with best in breed operator partners, Sky Travel’s acted as an independent travel agent.
Andy Jonesco, Managing Director of Sky’s Online Business Unit, said:
“Sky Travel has long delivered fresh and wide ranging holiday content to TV viewers. In the evolution of the Sky Travel website it is a natural move to take this rich video content and inject it into a dynamic website. This enables visitors to truly engage in their holiday research and harnesses the complementary strengths of Sky’s content and editorial skills with the range of great holiday deals offered by our new partners.”
Barbara Gibbon, Head of Sky Travel, commented:
“I am delighted to welcome Expedia and Cosmos Holidays, Fast Track Cruise and Premier Holidays as Sky Travel’s primary partners of city breaks, hotels, cruise, beach and tailor-made holiday products respectively. I’m confident that the Sky Travel website will quickly become one of the must visit destinations for those travellers who real want to combine insightful editorial with great value holidays.”
Sky’s portfolio of websites continues to extend its online reach and has attracted over 7 million unique UK users every month in the last year - reaching up to 34% of the UK’s entire online user base in peak months, according to ComScore.
Sky Travel will promote its new partners and holiday offerings via the TV on Sky channel 659 and online Sky.com/travel, and customers will book directly with Sky Travel’s commercial partners via co-branded versions of their own websites.
David Roche, senior vice president, Expedia Distribution, comments:
“We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Sky and will be providing them with a simple, easy to use product that will benefit their users by bringing the Expedia and TripAdvisor expertise together in this way for the first time. This deal highlights the diversification in the partners that Expedia Distribution is looking to work with and the way in which we can use our position as unique providers of travel services to bring together a bespoke and unique product.”
Paul Jolliffe, Cosmos Holidays Managing Director, comments
“We are particularly keen to grow our affiliate distribution channels and we see this partnership as the perfect vehicle to do this especially coinciding as it is with Sky Travel’s exciting rebrand. We look forward to a strong and mutually rewarding working partnership.”
Robin Deller, Managing Director Fast Track Ltd, comments:
“I am very excited about the opportunity to work in partnership with Sky Travel and look forward to developing the relationship further and taking the brand to the next level especially via the TV offerings.”
