talkholiday: A Unique Travel Themed Social Media Platform Takes Off
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A Scottish entrepreneur has launched a new travel-themed social media website which is set to gain global appeal and could change the way people share their holiday experiences.
- (1888PressRelease) May 10, 2013 - The brainchild of Chris Newlands, from Erskine near Glasgow, talkholiday is a unique proposition for individuals or groups travelling on holiday, giving them the opportunity to meet other holiday makers online before they travel.
Typically these will be people with the same interests who are travelling to the same destination at the same time so they can exchange views online and meet up in person, if they so wish, creating a genuine alternative to existing online travel search solutions.
Additionally and similar to other well-known travel sites, it incorporates the ability to rate cities, resorts and hotels to help other members make informed decisions before travelling or booking.
"talkholiday is ideally geared towards those both travelling alone or in groups looking to meet and talk to like-minded people prior to, during, or after their holiday experience," enthused Newlands, 46. "Typical examples would be football fans travelling alone to follow their team abroad wishing to meet other fans or student travellers looking to hook up with fellow students on gap year trips."
Indeed the gap in the online travel market was highlighted to Chris by his 22 year old step-son, Mark Boyle.
"Mark was planning a holiday to Ibiza in 2012 and was looking for information regarding other people's experiences, who had been to and were going to the same destination at the same time with the same interests and in the same age group as he so they could meet up," Chris explained. After he could not find anything online which ticked those particular boxes he mentioned it to the rest of the family.
"When we all failed to find anything relevant, we started our year-long journey to get talkholiday up and running as a Social Media platform where you can potentially speak to and "meet" anyone in the world and talk about mutual interests and travel plans. The destination is the thing they have in common, opening up a world of opportunities."
"It links to other social media platforms, but is in no way looking to replace them, talkholiday will fill a gap in the sector" added Chris.
Features on the site also enable the user to follow destinations, join and create groups, invite friends, share photos, and have access to packing lists, holiday count downs and Safety or Security (SOS) alerts for friends and family.
User generated and talkholiday interest groups will also offer huge potential commercial opportunities to advertisers and partners alike.
Chris explains, "This is a very exciting new venture, as although this is a company that has been built in Scotland, it most certainly has global appeal".
talkholiday is completely free for members to register and use with no added or hidden costs and the website also offers unique safety features (US patent pending) which will benefit mutual clients in an emergency situation, whilst abroad. talkholiday already has links to the Scottish Tourism Alliance and is quickly building a network of commercial partners.
talkholiday launches on 7th May 2013 with a week-long promotion on Radio Clyde1, the most listened to radio station in Glasgow and West Central Scotland.
You can sign up here: www.talkholiday.com.
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