Mexico.com has relaunched, combining scenic travel guide content with a booking engine. It covers all that Mexico has to offer, from the towering pyramids of the Maya and Aztecs to the stunning waters of the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. It offers deals on hotel stays and air and hotel packages, descriptive summaries of top cities, including background and history; popular attractions and beaches; recommended nightlife; dining; and more. It includes information on weather, transportation, tipping etiquette and key Spanish phrases. The site has sophisticated searching and filtering capabilities that allow travelers to find destinations and hotels based on options (such as all-inclusive or not), amenities, location, pricing, ratings and more. The site was put together by the team that created Vegas.com. For more information, visit www.mexico.com.

ITA Software, Inc., has launched its airfare shopping mobile app, OnTheFly, for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Airlines and travel distributors can license and integrate OnTheFly into their branded mobile products and booking platforms to take advantage of this new sales and service channel. Travelers can also download the shopping-only version for free from the App Store to search for optimal fares and itineraries.

OnTheFly offers the same advanced, powerful comparison shopping features used by many travel companies and by ITA’s Matrix airfare search application at matrix.itasoftware.com. OnTheFly enables users to easily shop for optimal airfares for any itinerary in the world and provides comprehensive choices to tailor the search and shopping experience. Specific features include flexible airport selection automatically suggests additional airports around origin or destination and allows multiple airports to be selected; intuitive travel date selector enables users to specify either single or multiple departure and arrival dates in one calendar interaction; and fine-grained control over search parameters allows users to specify number and type of passengers (such as adult or child), departure and arrival times, number of permitted stops, cabin class, and others.

It also provides chart summaries of search results to enable easy comparison among airlines, number of stops, travel dates and airports, as well as total mileage and carbon emissions for each trip. It has the ability to build an itinerary flight by flight makes it easy to explore multiple options, with controls for sorting flights by airline, price, departure time, arrival time, flight duration, and number of permitted stops. It gives full disclosure of exact airfare calculation, including all taxes and fees, provides all information necessary to make a reservation and purchase the ticket. The app is free at the iPhone store. For more information, www.itasoftware.com.

Tripology, a service of Rand McNally, said that since Rand McNally acquired the online service in March, Tripology has completed its transition to become the first in a series of web-based travel services being launched on RandMcNally.com. Over that time Tripology has reached new milestones of qualified travel specialists and consumer trip requests processed. It has re-signed alliance agreements with leading consortia and mega agencies; continued to add new Travel Industry Supporters to its program; and planned exciting technology enhancements to its offerings for launch by the end of 2010.

In the last month, Tripology matched its 150,000th consumer trip request to travel specialists. Likewise, the company’s network of qualified travel specialists, known as Tripologists, has continued to expand currently reaching more than 14,500. This diversified network of travel professionals who specialize in a wide variety of vacation styles, locations, experiences and price levels ensures that Tripology can match virtually any traveler -- no matter how specific the request -- with a Tripologist to help plan and book a requested trip.

Since the acquisition by Rand McNally, the company has re-signed preferred alliance agreements with Travel Leaders (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel). This reputable agency group is the latest to renew its agreement, joining such preeminent organizations as AAA, MAST Vacation Partners, Vacation.com and Ensemble that have also signed new agreements with Tripology. To date, there are more than 40 suppliers participating including Adventures by Disney, GOGO Worldwide Vacations, Classic Vacations, AMAWaterways, Pleasant Holidays, Globus, Avalon and many more. A complete list of suppliers currently participating in the Travel Industry Supporter Program is available online at www.tripology.com/supplierprogram.  For more information, visit www.Tripology.com  or www.RandMcNally.com.

American Airlines has added an iPhone application that helps customers stay connected with the airline while they are traveling. Once users enter their log-in and password, the application to push upcoming flight details to the home screen automatically. You can set parking reminders, monitor the standby list, track elite status progress and view personal flight details -- receive gate, seat and flight status information at a glance. You can access your mobile boarding pass, view terminal maps and play Sudoku. You can also book flights and check in, create flight status notifications and other functions. For more information, visit www.aa.com/appstore.

MyCapeTownInfo.com has launched a booking search engine that enables potential guests the ability to book a hotel and a flight to Cape Town without having to navigate to other websites, allowing potential tourists to determine the bulk of their travel costs in one place.

The new booking engine at MyCapeTownInfo allows travelers to search for a Cape Town hotel and a flight in one easy step. The potential tourist can search for the lowest price on an airline ticket and best-priced hotel at the same time and can match the flight and the accommodation to each other. MyCapeTownInfo.com currently provides information about more than 300 Cape Town accommodation venues in the greater Cape Town area. MyCapeTownInfo.com also provides information about restaurants, Cape Town nightlife and leisure excursions to tourists. For more information, visit www.MyCapeTownInfo.com.

Mexico.com has relaunched, combining scenic travel guide content with a booking engine. It covers all that Mexico has to offer, from the towering pyramids of the Maya and Aztecs to the stunning waters of the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. It offers deals on hotel stays and air and hotel packages, descriptive summaries of top cities, including background and history; popular attractions and beaches; recommended nightlife; dining; and more. It includes information on weather, transportation, tipping etiquette and key Spanish phrases. The site has sophisticated searching and filtering capabilities that allow travelers to find destinations and hotels based on options (such as all-inclusive or not), amenities, location, pricing, ratings and more. The site was put together by the team that created Vegas.com. For more information, visit www.mexico.com.

American Airlines has added an iPhone application that helps customers stay connected with the airline while they are traveling. Once users enter their log-in and password, the application to push upcoming flight details to the home screen automatically. You can set parking reminders, monitor the standby list, track elite status progress and view personal flight details -- receive gate, seat and flight status information at a glance. You can access your mobile boarding pass, view terminal maps and play Sudoku. You can also book flights and check in, create flight status notifications and other functions. For more information, visit www.aa.com/appstore.

ITA Software, Inc., has launched its airfare shopping mobile app, OnTheFly, for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Airlines and travel distributors can license and integrate OnTheFly into their branded mobile products and booking platforms to take advantage of this new sales and service channel. Travelers can also download the shopping-only version for free from the App Store to search for optimal fares and itineraries.

OnTheFly offers the same advanced, powerful comparison shopping features used by many travel companies and by ITA’s Matrix airfare search application at matrix.itasoftware.com. OnTheFly enables users to easily shop for optimal airfares for any itinerary in the world and provides comprehensive choices to tailor the search and shopping experience. Specific features include flexible airport selection automatically suggests additional airports around origin or destination and allows multiple airports to be selected; intuitive travel date selector enables users to specify either single or multiple departure and arrival dates in one calendar interaction; and fine-grained control over search parameters allows users to specify number and type of passengers (such as adult or child), departure and arrival times, number of permitted stops, cabin class, and others.

It also provides chart summaries of search results to enable easy comparison among airlines, number of stops, travel dates and airports, as well as total mileage and carbon emissions for each trip. It has the ability to build an itinerary flight by flight makes it easy to explore multiple options, with controls for sorting flights by airline, price, departure time, arrival time, flight duration, and number of permitted stops. It gives full disclosure of exact airfare calculation, including all taxes and fees, provides all information necessary to make a reservation and purchase the ticket. The app is free at the iPhone store. For more information, www.itasoftware.com.

Tripology, a service of Rand McNally, said that since Rand McNally acquired the online service in March, Tripology has completed its transition to become the first in a series of web-based travel services being launched on RandMcNally.com. Over that time Tripology has reached new milestones of qualified travel specialists and consumer trip requests processed. It has re-signed alliance agreements with leading consortia and mega agencies; continued to add new Travel Industry Supporters to its program; and planned exciting technology enhancements to its offerings for launch by the end of 2010.

In the last month, Tripology matched its 150,000th consumer trip request to travel specialists. Likewise, the company’s network of qualified travel specialists, known as Tripologists, has continued to expand currently reaching more than 14,500. This diversified network of travel professionals who specialize in a wide variety of vacation styles, locations, experiences and price levels ensures that Tripology can match virtually any traveler -- no matter how specific the request -- with a Tripologist to help plan and book a requested trip.

Since the acquisition by Rand McNally, the company has re-signed preferred alliance agreements with Travel Leaders (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel). This reputable agency group is the latest to renew its agreement, joining such preeminent organizations as AAA, MAST Vacation Partners, Vacation.com and Ensemble that have also signed new agreements with Tripology. To date, there are more than 40 suppliers participating including Adventures by Disney, GOGO Worldwide Vacations, Classic Vacations, AMAWaterways, Pleasant Holidays, Globus, Avalon and many more. A complete list of suppliers currently participating in the Travel Industry Supporter Program is available online at www.tripology.com/supplierprogram.  For more information, visit www.Tripology.com  or www.RandMcNally.com.

American Airlines has added an iPhone application that helps customers stay connected with the airline while they are traveling. Once users enter their log-in and password, the application to push upcoming flight details to the home screen automatically. You can set parking reminders, monitor the standby list, track elite status progress and view personal flight details -- receive gate, seat and flight status information at a glance. You can access your mobile boarding pass, view terminal maps and play Sudoku. You can also book flights and check in, create flight status notifications and other functions. For more information, visit www.aa.com/appstore.

Amadeus has announced a distribution deal with Premier Inn, the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest hotel chain, which will allow 580 of the chain’s properties to be booked through Amadeus. The deal will enable Premier Inn to continue to expand its distribution beyond the U.K. and Irish domestic markets, and focus on key markets including France, Spain, Italy and Germany. As the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest budget hotel chain, Premier Inn is ideally placed to attract European vacationers looking for good value. The deal will also help Premier Inn to attract more business travelers to their properties, as rooms for the chain will now be accessible through over 103,000 points of sale worldwide. The distribution deal has added over 42,000 rooms within the U.K. and Ireland to Amadeus. For more information, visit www.premierinn.com  or www.amadeus.com.

Amadeus has announced a distribution deal with Premier Inn, the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest hotel chain, which will allow 580 of the chain’s properties to be booked through Amadeus. The deal will enable Premier Inn to continue to expand its distribution beyond the U.K. and Irish domestic markets, and focus on key markets including France, Spain, Italy and Germany. As the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest budget hotel chain, Premier Inn is ideally placed to attract European vacationers looking for good value. The deal will also help Premier Inn to attract more business travelers to their properties, as rooms for the chain will now be accessible through over 103,000 points of sale worldwide. The distribution deal has added over 42,000 rooms within the U.K. and Ireland to Amadeus. For more information, visit www.premierinn.com  or www.amadeus.com.

Amadeus and airconomy, a strategy consultancy for aviation networks, have announced their partnership and the launch of Amadeus Total Demand by airconomy. This new data solution will provide airlines, airports and travel agencies with a comprehensive and accurate view of market demand on any given route including distribution by Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) and airline direct sales.

Amadeus has announced a distribution deal with Premier Inn, the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest hotel chain, which will allow 580 of the chain’s properties to be booked through Amadeus. The deal will enable Premier Inn to continue to expand its distribution beyond the U.K. and Irish domestic markets, and focus on key markets including France, Spain, Italy and Germany. As the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest budget hotel chain, Premier Inn is ideally placed to attract European vacationers looking for good value. The deal will also help Premier Inn to attract more business travelers to their properties, as rooms for the chain will now be accessible through over 103,000 points of sale worldwide. The distribution deal has added over 42,000 rooms within the U.K. and Ireland to Amadeus. For more information, visit www.premierinn.com  or www.amadeus.com.

Passport Online Inc. has relauched its corporate website. It offers increased functionality, new product demonstrations, social media connections, easy access to the company’s portfolio of Internet-based products and services, and quick links to relevant news releases and blog posts regarding products and services.

Agents now can access the new Passport Online social media tools and products. Agents can research the website tools available and can review the comprehensive list of nearly 100 travel industry suppliers whose content is accessible through the Passport Online system. Passport Online"s blog has also been updated to match the look of the new website. Passport Online supplies the leisure travel industry with Internet tools to reach the travel agency consumer. For more information, visit www.passportonlineinc.com.
 

GetThere said that it will begin offering United Airlines’ Economy Plus seats this fall. This will complement access travel agents have today to the airline’s special seat offering via the Sabre global distribution system (GDS). Sabre is the only GDS that provides travel agencies the ability to sell upgraded Economy Plus seats to their customers. For more information, visit www.getthere.com.

A study commissioned by Expedia, the online giant, said that destination marketing organizations are spending more advertising online. The study, conducted by Revel, reports that DMOs are significantly shifting ad dollars online and away from offline media, with some DMOs saying that online now accounts for more than 50 percent of the organization"s total advertising budget. A 2009 PhoCusWright study reported that 56 percent of U.S. travelers select their vacation destination online. Destination marketers also have the opportunity online to influence leisure travelers in the decision process, as a 2009 Google-Compete study showed that as many as four in 10 leisure travelers are undecided on an exact destination when they think about planning a trip.

Social media is also an increasingly important channel for destination marketers seeking to connect with travelers online. According to a January 2010 report from Destination Analysts, 43.5 percent of consumer respondents said they had used some form of user-generated content to plan leisure travel in the last 12 months, and 24 percent said they had used a mobile phone or PDA to access travel information -- 80 percent higher than the prior year. DMOs recognize the need to capitalize on this trend, and according to Expedia"s study, many DMOs said they want to incorporate social media into the marketing mix, but have not yet determined the best way to leverage the channel in their marketing plans. For more information, visit www.expedia.com.
 

Amadeus and airconomy, a strategy consultancy for aviation networks, have announced their partnership and the launch of Amadeus Total Demand by airconomy. This new data solution will provide airlines, airports and travel agencies with a comprehensive and accurate view of market demand on any given route including distribution by Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) and airline direct sales.

For example, airlines can calculate their true market share and assess the potential of routes where they do not operate today. Airports can analyze the traffic that is currently by-passing them and that could be captured if their slots where allocated differently. Travel agencies can gain insight into the market-share evolution of any given route to better advise their customers of available options.

Amadeus Total Demand by airconomy uses a large number of global and market-specific sources that, processed by a computing algorithm, guarantees the highest accuracy of the estimates produced. This helped determine, for example, that three out of the top five routes in terms of growth since the beginning of the year are based in Asia, with Bangkok-Hong Kong posting a 47 percent increase Year-To-Date. In parallel, Asia also experienced the biggest drop in traffic on the Beijing-Tokyo route with a 26 percent decline. Trans-Atlantic traffic witnessed significant growth: New York-Paris increased by 43 percent, while New York-London grew by 18 percent over the same period. For more information, visit www.amadeus.com.
 

Passport Online Inc. has relauched its corporate website. It offers increased functionality, new product demonstrations, social media connections, easy access to the company’s portfolio of Internet-based products and services, and quick links to relevant news releases and blog posts regarding products and services.

Amadeus has announced a distribution deal with Premier Inn, the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest hotel chain, which will allow 580 of the chain’s properties to be booked through Amadeus. The deal will enable Premier Inn to continue to expand its distribution beyond the U.K. and Irish domestic markets, and focus on key markets including France, Spain, Italy and Germany. As the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest budget hotel chain, Premier Inn is ideally placed to attract European vacationers looking for good value. The deal will also help Premier Inn to attract more business travelers to their properties, as rooms for the chain will now be accessible through over 103,000 points of sale worldwide. The distribution deal has added over 42,000 rooms within the U.K. and Ireland to Amadeus. For more information, visit www.premierinn.com  or www.amadeus.com.

Passport Online Inc. has relauched its corporate website. It offers increased functionality, new product demonstrations, social media connections, easy access to the company’s portfolio of Internet-based products and services, and quick links to relevant news releases and blog posts regarding products and services.

Agents now can access the new Passport Online social media tools and products. Agents can research the website tools available and can review the comprehensive list of nearly 100 travel industry suppliers whose content is accessible through the Passport Online system. Passport Online"s blog has also been updated to match the look of the new website. Passport Online supplies the leisure travel industry with Internet tools to reach the travel agency consumer. For more information, visit www.passportonlineinc.com.
 

ITA Software, Inc., has launched its airfare shopping mobile app, OnTheFly, for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Airlines and travel distributors can license and integrate OnTheFly into their branded mobile products and booking platforms to take advantage of this new sales and service channel. Travelers can also download the shopping-only version for free from the App Store to search for optimal fares and itineraries.

ITA Software, Inc., has launched its airfare shopping mobile app, OnTheFly, for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Airlines and travel distributors can license and integrate OnTheFly into their branded mobile products and booking platforms to take advantage of this new sales and service channel. Travelers can also download the shopping-only version for free from the App Store to search for optimal fares and itineraries.

OnTheFly offers the same advanced, powerful comparison shopping features used by many travel companies and by ITA’s Matrix airfare search application at matrix.itasoftware.com. OnTheFly enables users to easily shop for optimal airfares for any itinerary in the world and provides comprehensive choices to tailor the search and shopping experience. Specific features include flexible airport selection automatically suggests additional airports around origin or destination and allows multiple airports to be selected; intuitive travel date selector enables users to specify either single or multiple departure and arrival dates in one calendar interaction; and fine-grained control over search parameters allows users to specify number and type of passengers (such as adult or child), departure and arrival times, number of permitted stops, cabin class, and others.

It also provides chart summaries of search results to enable easy comparison among airlines, number of stops, travel dates and airports, as well as total mileage and carbon emissions for each trip. It has the ability to build an itinerary flight by flight makes it easy to explore multiple options, with controls for sorting flights by airline, price, departure time, arrival time, flight duration, and number of permitted stops. It gives full disclosure of exact airfare calculation, including all taxes and fees, provides all information necessary to make a reservation and purchase the ticket. The app is free at the iPhone store. For more information, www.itasoftware.com.

MyCapeTownInfo.com has launched a booking search engine that enables potential guests the ability to book a hotel and a flight to Cape Town without having to navigate to other websites, allowing potential tourists to determine the bulk of their travel costs in one place.

ITA Software, Inc., has launched its airfare shopping mobile app, OnTheFly, for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Airlines and travel distributors can license and integrate OnTheFly into their branded mobile products and booking platforms to take advantage of this new sales and service channel. Travelers can also download the shopping-only version for free from the App Store to search for optimal fares and itineraries.

OnTheFly offers the same advanced, powerful comparison shopping features used by many travel companies and by ITA’s Matrix airfare search application at matrix.itasoftware.com. OnTheFly enables users to easily shop for optimal airfares for any itinerary in the world and provides comprehensive choices to tailor the search and shopping experience. Specific features include flexible airport selection automatically suggests additional airports around origin or destination and allows multiple airports to be selected; intuitive travel date selector enables users to specify either single or multiple departure and arrival dates in one calendar interaction; and fine-grained control over search parameters allows users to specify number and type of passengers (such as adult or child), departure and arrival times, number of permitted stops, cabin class, and others.

It also provides chart summaries of search results to enable easy comparison among airlines, number of stops, travel dates and airports, as well as total mileage and carbon emissions for each trip. It has the ability to build an itinerary flight by flight makes it easy to explore multiple options, with controls for sorting flights by airline, price, departure time, arrival time, flight duration, and number of permitted stops. It gives full disclosure of exact airfare calculation, including all taxes and fees, provides all information necessary to make a reservation and purchase the ticket. The app is free at the iPhone store. For more information, www.itasoftware.com.

Tripology, a service of Rand McNally, said that since Rand McNally acquired the online service in March, Tripology has completed its transition to become the first in a series of web-based travel services being launched on RandMcNally.com. Over that time Tripology has reached new milestones of qualified travel specialists and consumer trip requests processed. It has re-signed alliance agreements with leading consortia and mega agencies; continued to add new Travel Industry Supporters to its program; and planned exciting technology enhancements to its offerings for launch by the end of 2010.

In the last month, Tripology matched its 150,000th consumer trip request to travel specialists. Likewise, the company’s network of qualified travel specialists, known as Tripologists, has continued to expand currently reaching more than 14,500. This diversified network of travel professionals who specialize in a wide variety of vacation styles, locations, experiences and price levels ensures that Tripology can match virtually any traveler -- no matter how specific the request -- with a Tripologist to help plan and book a requested trip.

Since the acquisition by Rand McNally, the company has re-signed preferred alliance agreements with Travel Leaders (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel). This reputable agency group is the latest to renew its agreement, joining such preeminent organizations as AAA, MAST Vacation Partners, Vacation.com and Ensemble that have also signed new agreements with Tripology. To date, there are more than 40 suppliers participating including Adventures by Disney, GOGO Worldwide Vacations, Classic Vacations, AMAWaterways, Pleasant Holidays, Globus, Avalon and many more. A complete list of suppliers currently participating in the Travel Industry Supporter Program is available online at www.tripology.com/supplierprogram.  For more information, visit www.Tripology.com  or www.RandMcNally.com.

American Airlines has added an iPhone application that helps customers stay connected with the airline while they are traveling. Once users enter their log-in and password, the application to push upcoming flight details to the home screen automatically. You can set parking reminders, monitor the standby list, track elite status progress and view personal flight details -- receive gate, seat and flight status information at a glance. You can access your mobile boarding pass, view terminal maps and play Sudoku. You can also book flights and check in, create flight status notifications and other functions. For more information, visit www.aa.com/appstore.

MyCapeTownInfo.com has launched a booking search engine that enables potential guests the ability to book a hotel and a flight to Cape Town without having to navigate to other websites, allowing potential tourists to determine the bulk of their travel costs in one place.

The new booking engine at MyCapeTownInfo allows travelers to search for a Cape Town hotel and a flight in one easy step. The potential tourist can search for the lowest price on an airline ticket and best-priced hotel at the same time and can match the flight and the accommodation to each other. MyCapeTownInfo.com currently provides information about more than 300 Cape Town accommodation venues in the greater Cape Town area. MyCapeTownInfo.com also provides information about restaurants, Cape Town nightlife and leisure excursions to tourists. For more information, visit www.MyCapeTownInfo.com.

GetThere said that it will begin offering United Airlines’ Economy Plus seats this fall. This will complement access travel agents have today to the airline’s special seat offering via the Sabre global distribution system (GDS). Sabre is the only GDS that provides travel agencies the ability to sell upgraded Economy Plus seats to their customers. For more information, visit www.getthere.com.

Amadeus has announced a distribution deal with Premier Inn, the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest hotel chain, which will allow 580 of the chain’s properties to be booked through Amadeus. The deal will enable Premier Inn to continue to expand its distribution beyond the U.K. and Irish domestic markets, and focus on key markets including France, Spain, Italy and Germany. As the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest budget hotel chain, Premier Inn is ideally placed to attract European vacationers looking for good value. The deal will also help Premier Inn to attract more business travelers to their properties, as rooms for the chain will now be accessible through over 103,000 points of sale worldwide. The distribution deal has added over 42,000 rooms within the U.K. and Ireland to Amadeus. For more information, visit www.premierinn.com  or www.amadeus.com.

Passport Online Inc. has relauched its corporate website. It offers increased functionality, new product demonstrations, social media connections, easy access to the company’s portfolio of Internet-based products and services, and quick links to relevant news releases and blog posts regarding products and services.

Agents now can access the new Passport Online social media tools and products. Agents can research the website tools available and can review the comprehensive list of nearly 100 travel industry suppliers whose content is accessible through the Passport Online system. Passport Online"s blog has also been updated to match the look of the new website. Passport Online supplies the leisure travel industry with Internet tools to reach the travel agency consumer. For more information, visit www.passportonlineinc.com.
 

GetThere said that it will begin offering United Airlines’ Economy Plus seats this fall. This will complement access travel agents have today to the airline’s special seat offering via the Sabre global distribution system (GDS). Sabre is the only GDS that provides travel agencies the ability to sell upgraded Economy Plus seats to their customers. For more information, visit www.getthere.com.

A study commissioned by Expedia, the online giant, said that destination marketing organizations are spending more advertising online. The study, conducted by Revel, reports that DMOs are significantly shifting ad dollars online and away from offline media, with some DMOs saying that online now accounts for more than 50 percent of the organization"s total advertising budget. A 2009 PhoCusWright study reported that 56 percent of U.S. travelers select their vacation destination online. Destination marketers also have the opportunity online to influence leisure travelers in the decision process, as a 2009 Google-Compete study showed that as many as four in 10 leisure travelers are undecided on an exact destination when they think about planning a trip.

Amadeus has announced a distribution deal with Premier Inn, the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest hotel chain, which will allow 580 of the chain’s properties to be booked through Amadeus. The deal will enable Premier Inn to continue to expand its distribution beyond the U.K. and Irish domestic markets, and focus on key markets including France, Spain, Italy and Germany. As the U.K. and Ireland’s biggest budget hotel chain, Premier Inn is ideally placed to attract European vacationers looking for good value. The deal will also help Premier Inn to attract more business travelers to their properties, as rooms for the chain will now be accessible through over 103,000 points of sale worldwide. The distribution deal has added over 42,000 rooms within the U.K. and Ireland to Amadeus. For more information, visit www.premierinn.com  or www.amadeus.com.

Passport Online Inc. has relauched its corporate website. It offers increased functionality, new product demonstrations, social media connections, easy access to the company’s portfolio of Internet-based products and services, and quick links to relevant news releases and blog posts regarding products and services.

Agents now can access the new Passport Online social media tools and products. Agents can research the website tools available and can review the comprehensive list of nearly 100 travel industry suppliers whose content is accessible through the Passport Online system. Passport Online"s blog has also been updated to match the look of the new website. Passport Online supplies the leisure travel industry with Internet tools to reach the travel agency consumer. For more information, visit www.passportonlineinc.com.
 

GetThere said that it will begin offering United Airlines’ Economy Plus seats this fall. This will complement access travel agents have today to the airline’s special seat offering via the Sabre global distribution system (GDS). Sabre is the only GDS that provides travel agencies the ability to sell upgraded Economy Plus seats to their customers. For more information, visit www.getthere.com.

A study commissioned by Expedia, the online giant, said that destination marketing organizations are spending more advertising online. The study, conducted by Revel, reports that DMOs are significantly shifting ad dollars online and away from offline media, with some DMOs saying that online now accounts for more than 50 percent of the organization"s total advertising budget. A 2009 PhoCusWright study reported that 56 percent of U.S. travelers select their vacation destination online. Destination marketers also have the opportunity online to influence leisure travelers in the decision process, as a 2009 Google-Compete study showed that as many as four in 10 leisure travelers are undecided on an exact destination when they think about planning a trip.

Social media is also an increasingly important channel for destination marketers seeking to connect with travelers online. According to a January 2010 report from Destination Analysts, 43.5 percent of consumer respondents said they had used some form of user-generated content to plan leisure travel in the last 12 months, and 24 percent said they had used a mobile phone or PDA to access travel information -- 80 percent higher than the prior year. DMOs recognize the need to capitalize on this trend, and according to Expedia"s study, many DMOs said they want to incorporate social media into the marketing mix, but have not yet determined the best way to leverage the channel in their marketing plans. For more information, visit www.expedia.com.
 

Tripology, a service of Rand McNally, said that since Rand McNally acquired the online service in March, Tripology has completed its transition to become the first in a series of web-based travel services being launched on RandMcNally.com. Over that time Tripology has reached new milestones of qualified travel specialists and consumer trip requests processed. It has re-signed alliance agreements with leading consortia and mega agencies; continued to add new Travel Industry Supporters to its program; and planned exciting technology enhancements to its offerings for launch by the end of 2010.

ITA Software, Inc., has launched its airfare shopping mobile app, OnTheFly, for the Apple iPhone and iPod touch. Airlines and travel distributors can license and integrate OnTheFly into their branded mobile products and booking platforms to take advantage of this new sales and service channel. Travelers can also download the shopping-only version for free from the App Store to search for optimal fares and itineraries.

OnTheFly offers the same advanced, powerful comparison shopping features used by many travel companies and by ITA’s Matrix airfare search application at matrix.itasoftware.com. OnTheFly enables users to easily shop for optimal airfares for any itinerary in the world and provides comprehensive choices to tailor the search and shopping experience. Specific features include flexible airport selection automatically suggests additional airports around origin or destination and allows multiple airports to be selected; intuitive travel date selector enables users to specify either single or multiple departure and arrival dates in one calendar interaction; and fine-grained control over search parameters allows users to specify number and type of passengers (such as adult or child), departure and arrival times, number of permitted stops, cabin class, and others.

It also provides chart summaries of search results to enable easy comparison among airlines, number of stops, travel dates and airports, as well as total mileage and carbon emissions for each trip. It has the ability to build an itinerary flight by flight makes it easy to explore multiple options, with controls for sorting flights by airline, price, departure time, arrival time, flight duration, and number of permitted stops. It gives full disclosure of exact airfare calculation, including all taxes and fees, provides all information necessary to make a reservation and purchase the ticket. The app is free at the iPhone store. For more information, www.itasoftware.com.

Tripology, a service of Rand McNally, said that since Rand McNally acquired the online service in March, Tripology has completed its transition to become the first in a series of web-based travel services being launched on RandMcNally.com. Over that time Tripology has reached new milestones of qualified travel specialists and consumer trip requests processed. It has re-signed alliance agreements with leading consortia and mega agencies; continued to add new Travel Industry Supporters to its program; and planned exciting technology enhancements to its offerings for launch by the end of 2010.

In the last month, Tripology matched its 150,000th consumer trip request to travel specialists. Likewise, the company’s network of qualified travel specialists, known as Tripologists, has continued to expand currently reaching more than 14,500. This diversified network of travel professionals who specialize in a wide variety of vacation styles, locations, experiences and price levels ensures that Tripology can match virtually any traveler -- no matter how specific the request -- with a Tripologist to help plan and book a requested trip.

Since the acquisition by Rand McNally, the company has re-signed preferred alliance agreements with Travel Leaders (formerly Carlson Wagonlit Travel). This reputable agency group is the latest to renew its agreement, joining such preeminent organizations as AAA, MAST Vacation Partners, Vacation.com and Ensemble that have also signed new agreements with Tripology. To date, there are more than 40 suppliers participating including Adventures by Disney, GOGO Worldwide Vacations, Classic Vacations, AMAWaterways, Pleasant Holidays, Globus, Avalon and many more. A complete list of suppliers currently participating in the Travel Industry Supporter Program is available online at www.tripology.com/supplierprogram.  For more information, visit www.Tripology.com  or www.RandMcNally.com.