Expedia Group Launches COVID-19 Travel Advisor Online Travel Tool
As vaccinations continue to be distributed, more Americans are thinking of traveling as restrictions are lifted. However, some are still hesitant due to COVID-19 outbreaks and testing and quarantine requirements.
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The online travel shopping company Expedia Group launched its COVID-19 Travel Advisor, a search tool for travelers looking to find out more about travel advisories during COVID-19, including regulations for certain destinations and safety and health guidelines for seven of the company’s travel brands. The brands incorporating the Expedia Group tool include ebookers, Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, Vrbo and Wotif.
Expedia partnered with sherpa˚, a provider of travel identification documents, to create this online travel tool to offer reassurance to weary travelers.
“Right now, many people are considering booking trips as the COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues, but at the same time, they’re inundated with conflicting information about where and how they can safely travel,” said Stacey Symonds, senior director of Experience Insights, Expedia Group, in a statement.
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“It can prove challenging to find these details from a reliable source, so we teamed up with sherpa˚ to seamlessly integrate a solution into our apps, websites, and customer communications. Our goal is to reduce friction for travelers during a time when they need extra support and empower them to make responsible decisions.”
According to an Expedia Media Solutions study, travelers are using online travel agencies for trip planning nearly 25% more than before the pandemic.
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“Travel is critical to our world economy and an important part of human connection,” said Max Tremaine, co-founder and CEO of Sherpa, in a report. “Since the pandemic started, our focus has remained firmly on helping our travel partners restore consumer confidence and trust in travel. This partnership with Expedia Group exemplifies our shared goals and speaks to Expedia Group’s commitment to power global travel for everyone, everywhere,” he said.
Expedia Group released a pilot phase in November 2020 and has seen more than 1.6 million travelers using the COVID-19 Travel Advisor. In March, Expedia Group recorded more than 1.7 million visitors to the travel tool, a 97% increase from February.
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