08 July 2008
Travel Buddy signs deal with England’s Northwest
Travel Buddy, the mobile company which provides location based
information to visitors and residents has confirmed a mobile deal
with the five tourist boards covering England’s Northwest. Led by
Visit Chester and Cheshire and supported by the Northwest Regional
Development Agency (NWDA) the partnership includes coverage in
Merseyside, Cumbria, Cheshire, Lancashire & Greater
Manchester.
Visitors can now register for the Travel Buddy service on
vistitlancashire.com, visitblackpool.com, visitcheshire.com,
visitchester.com, visitmanchester.com, visitliverpool.com and
golakes.co.uk.
The deal will see Travel Buddy provide visitors with keywords
that can be text to a shortcode (short mobile number) to receive
local activities, events, restaurants, clubs & weather
forecasts on their mobile.
Travel Buddy has also implemented Cell ID in the UK allowing
users to text keywords for local content without registering
online. Cell ID tracks the location of the mobile handset enabling
Travel Buddy to deliver the relevant content.
Jason Rivolta, Commercial Director commented: “The UK strategy
to offer Travel Buddy to visitors and residents right across the UK
is going well. We are delighted to be working with the five tourist
boards in the Northwest. A marketing campaign is being rolled out
to increase the numbers using the service which will start to
generate revenues and allow the tourist boards use of the SMS
‘Broadcast System’ for direct marketing.
Donna Lund, Visit Chester and Cheshire said: “We are delighted
to be working with Travel Buddy on this innovative service for
visitors to England’s Northwest. As usage of mobile technology
increases, our service ensures visitors and residents will receive
instant, affordable information direct to their mobile phone”.
James Berresford, Director of Tourism at the Northwest Regional
Development Agency (NWDA), added: “Travel Buddy is an exciting
development in the provision of visitor information and the Agency
is pleased to be able to support this partnership with the region’s
tourist boards. Visitor information is evolving and visitors are
becoming more discerning; it is vitally important that we put
relevant and timely information at the fingertips of our visitors
if we want to maximise their time in the region and the economic
benefits that they bring.”
Travel Buddy now has proprietary content for over 1200
destinations as well as a Mobile Translator delivered by Java
Applet in 11 different languages. Travel Buddy which provides
location based information to holiday makers relevant to their
dates of travel and destination, as well as a mobile also provides
text message advice and support for the customers of leading travel
brands such as Thomson, First Choice and The Co-Operative
Travel.
-Ends-
Notes to editor
o Mobiletrails Ltd is the owner of Travel Buddy and is a
privately held limited company.
o Travel Buddy is a mobile communication company set up in
2006 to provide an interface for travel companies and tourist
organisations to communicate with their customers for operational,
promotional and service needs.
o Via mobile phone text messaging, Travel Buddy provides
location based services which allow individual travellers to access
or receive information relevant to their leisure or business travel
destination and their dates of travel.
o The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) leads
the economic development and regeneration of England's Northwest
and is responsible for:
• Supporting business growth and encouraging investment
• Matching skills provision to employer needs
• Creating the conditions for economic growth
• Connecting the region through effective transport and
communication infrastructure
• Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life
For more information and to view the latest press releases go to
www.nwda.co.uk/press
For further media information please contact Deirdre Mackey or
Sarah Rathborne at Siren PR on 020 3008 6290 or deirdre.mackey@sirenpr.co.uk
/ sarah.rathbone@sirenpr.co.uk.