Directline-holidays.co.uk has completed significant changes to its website to signify a strong business performance in 2007 and to remain competitive in the world’s fastest growing industry.
With more expected from the travel industry, directline-holidays.co.uk have made site navigation easier with a simpler research and booking facility, whilst aesthetically, a new site header has been added. directline-holidays.co.uk director Matthew Flint said:
“We have embraced new changes in the industry and wanted to reflect that in the site. The new header is important as you cannot underestimate the power of first impressions to customers. Hopefully the new look not only inspires confidence in users but also convey the values of directline-holidays.co.uk at a glance.”
The re-branding coincides with the online holiday company competing with more established names in the travel industry; Hitwise has already identified directline-holidays.co.uk as one of the ‘top 20’ travel agents in the UK, whilst mergers between the ‘big four’ show that leading companies realise the need for change, joining forces to keep up with the online market. Matthew Flint stated that early signs towards the changes were positive in conveying an improved image perception amongst their customers:
“Homepage views on the site in June’07 are up by over 300% year on year, whilst more customers are coming straight to the site rather than finding us via a search engine. There is also a noticeable decrease in users exiting the site since the changes have taken place, signifying they are engaging with the site in a way they could not before”.
With many holiday tour operators and travel agents capitalising on the benefits of the Internet, consumers want sites that offer quality information. Therefore, more destinations have been added to the improved search facility to keep up with the constant stream of new resorts emerging as the latest hotspots. However, Flint stressed the need for quality not just quantity:
“Understanding the need for more informative content, further pages have been added for each holiday resort on ‘things to do’, ‘holiday weather’ and ‘customer reviews’. However, it was important to not make wholesale changes with the look and feel of the site as we are aware of customer sensitivity towards changes to a trusted brand – it’s about subtle change rather than a more significant re-branding”.
The changes embraced by directline-holidays were intended to coincide with the summer peak and what is expected to be a record breaking year both for directline-holidays.co.uk and the travel industry.
