Cheqqer opens new front in battle for travel reviews

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Online travel review site Cheqqer has expanded into Spain from the Netherlands, hinting that there is more to come as it fights US giant TripAdvisor for customer opinions.

Cheqqer, which is owned by European travel conglomerate TUI, collates reviews from the 30 million customers a year who travel using Tui's brands, which include TUI, Thomson and First Choice in the UK, Falcon and JWT Holidays in Ireland and Nouvelles Frontieres in France.

The Spanish version of the Cheqqer website was launched June 22 after the initial trial with the Dutch market, with the website's boss Sandra Leonhard saying that one of the "larger online travel markets in Europe" will be next to launch.

Using the website, customers can post reviews of trips for others and access the knowledge of some 50,000 TUI "holiday experts" (tour guides, travel and flight personnel) who have been asked to submit tips and advice for the site.

These holiday experts could prove a critical differentiator as TUI battles established review giant TripAdvisor to gain reviews from customers, which have become a major influence when web-savvy customers choose their destination.

In February, TUI's main competitor Thomas Cook announced that it was to integrate TripAdvisor traveler reviews on some of its websites.

US-based TripAdvisor has 35 million reviews from travelers compared to Cheqqer's 900,000, although it has ten years on its European rival.

http://www.cheqqer.es