Asean Tourism will today soft launch its new website and logo.  www.southeastasia.org

SoutheastAsia.org is the product of Bangkok-based Asean Competitiveness Enhancement (ACE) Project, which is funded by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Regional Development Mission Asia. 

ACE signed a deal with the regional trade association, Aseanta, during ATF in Hanoi last January, to develop tourism branding for Asean destinations with a website SoutheastAsia.org as the trading portal. 

It will have a special section for travel agents and others in the travel trade. Travel suppliers are being encouraged to submit content. 

Much of the content on SoutheastAsia.org is being built around niche themes such as ecotourism, train travel, cultural sightseeing, and cruising. 

ACE has since teamed up with Singapore-based Wego Pte Ltd and Qais Consulting.

Wego will offer SouthEastAsia.org capability to search dozens of sites before presenting results integrated into an interactive map and trip planner using its current technology at www.wego.com. 

Wego in partnership with Qais ( http://qaisconsulting.com/ ) will develop, host and maintain SoutheastAsia.org.  Wego and Qais have enjoyed previous success in working together with the successful www.viasingapore.com website which was  awarded the honorary nominee  for a  Webby Award in 2009.

As Christmas fast approaches, a growing number of Aussie families are packing their bags and heading on “quirky” adventures this holiday season, according to travel comparison site www.wego.com.

According to Wego, people are taking a holiday break this year with the site recording over four times as many searches for flights and accommodation over the holiday period than for non-peak periods, as Aussies travel to see loved ones or embark on a Christmas adventure.

One Aussie family getting ready to embark on an adventure this Christmas is Adelaide’s Waldie family. This Thursday, Helen, David, John and Carol Waldie will leave on a 13-day family adventure of Egypt.

Helen won the trip valued at $20,000 when she entered a Wego competition in association with GAP Adventures earlier this year and decided to make the most of her trip over the festive season.

“I can’t think of a better way to spend Christmas than visiting the Valley of Kings with my family and celebrating News Year’s Eve under the stars of the Egyptian desert.”

“This will be my first Christmas overseas. I’ve always been fascinated with Egypt and I am really looking forward to my adventure this holiday season.”

“I’m sure it will be an experience I’ll never forget,” Ms Waldie said.

Wego enables Aussie travellers to search for flights, hotels, packages, travel deals and travel research across 100+ travel websites in the time that it normally takes to search just one.

Popular and “quirky” holiday packages currently available through wego.com.au’s partners include:

• Tanzanian Wildlife adventure
• Costa Rica Volunteer Project
• Sail through the Greek Islands
• Volcano Trail through through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

“Wego offers a variety of interesting holiday packages and adventures from dozens of travel providers for those wanting to spend their Christmas differently this year,” said Wego.com.au national marketing manager, Sam Lindner.

“There are some great last minute deals going and we encourage anyone faced with a boring Christmas to get online and check out the many fantastic adventures available on Wego.”

Wego also empowers Aussie travellers with the ability to see a snapshot of views and experiences of others voiced across the internet through their new review feature. To get the best travel deals available and get the inside scoop on the best hotels to stay at visit:  www.wego.com

For more information, please contact:
Kate McQuestin ‐ Wego.com
T: 02 8114 7552 or 0419 591 150
kate.mcquestin@newsdigitalmedia.com.au

About Wego.com

Wego.com allows travellers to search for flights, hotels, packages, travel deals and travel research across 100+ travel websites in the time that it normally takes to search just one. Wego searches travel websites in real‐time so that the latest pricing and availability are shown. Travellers are then linked through to partner websites to book. Wego.com was founded in 2005 by former executives from Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE: IHG), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN) and ZUJI. News Digital Media, the Australian digital arm of News Limited and part of News Corp (NYSE: NWS), is an investor. For more information,
please visit http://www.wego.com/about.

Singapore, December 1, 2009: Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia and Wego, a travel search engine, have entered into a partnership to launch Wego’s leading-edge travel search engine on Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia’s new website www.TravelandLeisureAsia.com.

Now, Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia readers can quickly find the best travel deals in Southeast Asia and beyond online. Wego’s search engine offers travelers an unprecedented variety of travel options. Flights, hotels, car rentals and packages from more than 150 travel websites are accessible from one window. Plus, the content is optimized for travelers from this region.

Craig Hewett, co-founder of Wego.com, said, “By powering the travel search functionality for Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia’s website, we will provide its users with the easiest way for those shopping for travel deals to find what they are looking for online.

“Wego’s partnerships with luxury hotel brands and boutique properties matches Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia’s online editorial blend perfectly,” he added.

Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia’s Digital Media Manager, Ms Pichayanee Kitsanayothin, said: “Our magazine content does a wonderful job in creating the inspiration and motivation for travel. Now, the website is extending the Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia brand and message to millions more people.

“Our website, a dynamic directory, is designed to complement the magazine and to give users a unique blend of reliable information and quality content, along with valuable travel and related services, all delivered in a seamless online experience. Now, with Wego’s search engine, our users can turn inspiration into action,” Ms Pichayanee added.

With the Christmas holidays around the corner, Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia readers looking for a luxury getaway can start planning by searching for travel offers on www.TravelandLeisureAsia.com.

About Wego
Wego.com allows travelers to search for flights, hotels, packages, travel deals and travel research across 150+ travel websites in the time that it normally takes to search just one. Wego searches travel websites in real time so that the latest pricing and availability are shown. Travelers are then linked through to partner websites to book. Wego.com was founded in 2005 by former executives from Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE: IHG), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN) and ZUJI. News Digital Media, the Australian digital arm of News Limited and part of News Corp (NYSE: NWS), is an investor. For more information, visit http://www.wego.com/about/.

About Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia
Launched in December 2007, Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia is the newest and most widely distributed of all Travel + Leisure international editions, reaching out to readers in 12 countries in Southeast Asia including Hong Kong and Macau. The magazine is published by Media Transasia Ltd. under license from American Express Publishing. Travel + Leisure is one of the world’s most recognized magazine brands. Since its inception in 1971, the magazine has grown into one of the world’s most-read publications, currently relied upon by around 5 million readers globally.

Have you ever travelled and not know what to do when you arrive? Do you desire something more than the usual sights and sounds? Then, let AXN Big Breaks give you exclusive travel deals to destinations featured in Asia’s Action and Adventure channel – AXN.

So what exactly is AXN Big Breaks? AXN Asia partnered with Wego, Asia-Pacific’s leading travel search engine to bring you TRAVEL DEALS. These deals are sourced from hundreds of travel providers across the globe. If you’re a fan of AXN, you can follow the footsteps of your favourite TV characters. Avid travellers can relive iconic scenes from your favourite AXN dramas or explore filming locations up close. For those who love to shop, why not bring home that something you saw on TV? AXN Big Breaks adds an extra kick to what may have been a boring, forgettable vaca-y!

AXN Big Breaks jumpstarts with Cyril: Simply Magic, which premieres TONIGHT on AXN (November 19) at 9pm. Follow Cyril’s cutting-edge street magic across Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. Will you score some luck in Suntec City’s Fountain of Wealth or just shop ‘till you drop in Singapore? Or choose to experience the enchanting Kuala Lumpur? Perhaps shop and roam the picturesque streets of Taipei?

Why not check out AXN Big Breaks now? Put that action back into travel at AXN Big Breaks and get that Big Break you deserve!

What do Singaporeans, Malaysians and Taiwanese have in common? Well, they went nuts over Cyril’s magic!

And, what will bring you closer to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei? AXN Big Breaks, of course! AXN Big Breaks is bringing you exclusive travel deals worldwide! These sweet deals come from Wego, AXN’s partner and provider of hot travel deals – from airline bookings, hotel arrangements to holiday packages and more!

You can savour the local delicacies featured in the first leg of Cyril’s magical adventures, or wish for luck from the Fountain of Wealth… all found in the modern, affluent and progressive Lion City! Experience the rustic charm of Kuala Lumpur, and see if Cyril breaks barriers among Malaysians with his mindblowing magic. In the last stop of the tour, can magic bring happiness to the people of Taipei? Be entertained and be amazed as Cyril draws ooohs and aaahs from his captive audience.

Catch Cyril: Simply Magic, which will premiere on AXN on November 19 at 9PM. Don’t fret! You can also retrace Cyril’s magical journey across the three enchanting cities in Asia with AXN Big Breaks, which brings you the best travel deals to these unique destinations. Visit AXN Big Breaks at http://www.wego.com/axn.

Sydney, 9th November, 2009 - Travel comparison site Wego.com.au today launched a revolutionary new type of hotel review product, empowering travellers to quickly pull hotel reviews from all across the internet – but only read the ones of direct interest to them.

 Wego’s new cutting-edge review system aggregates and sorts reviews from across hundreds of websites.  It then drills down to determine how positive or negative the review is … and why.  The result is an overall “guest satisfaction” score, as well as separate sub-scores for filters such as “rooms”, “location”, “cleanliness”, “family friendly”, etc.

 Some of these filters are fixed and present for all hotels. Others appear only when they are often mentioned in reviews.  A hotel with a great spa, for instance, will have a separate score for “spa.”  These filters appear in an intuitive tag cloud, allowing users to simply click on any term of interest. 

 All reviews and guest satisfaction scores are supported by review snippets, in which the relevant bits can be read quickly and easily.  If a user wants to read the full review, they simply click on the snippet. 

 The entire interface is designed to put the relevant information front and centre, and allow the user to simply point and click to learn more about topics of interest to them.  Wego does all the hard work for the traveller by pulling reviews from hundreds of leading sites and presenting a snapshot of opinion.

 Wego founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Craig Hewett said, “Wego’s new hotel reviews fill a massive gap in the online travel shopping experience.  Consumers don’t like being forced to wade through hundreds of reviews to find one that seems relevant to them.  No other site can get as many relevant reviews in front of the user so quickly.”

 “We believe this offering will also benefit hotel operators as they can see a valuable snapshot of the experience their valued customers have had with their business.”

 “We are excited to be launching this offering and giving consumers access to the best information available on hotels. It is part of our continued investment in the Wego product and our commitment to delivering travellers with the best experience available online,” Mr Hewett said.  

The new hotel review product can be viewed at: www.wego.com.au/hotels

For more information, please contact:

Kate McQuestin ‐ Wego.com.au

T: 02 8114 7552

M: 0419 591 150

kate@mcqmedia.com

About Wego.com

Wego.com allows travellers to search for flights, hotels, packages, travel deals and travel

research across 100+ travel websites in the time that it normally takes to search just one. Wego searches travel

websites in real‐time so that the latest pricing and availability are shown. Travellers are then linked through to

partner websites to book. Wego.com was founded in 2005 by former executives from Intercontinental Hotels

Group (NYSE: IHG), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN) and ZUJI. News Digital Media, the

Australian digital arm of News Limited and part of News Corp (NYSE: NWS), is an investor. For more information,

please visit http://www.wego.com/about.

Last week during one of our monthly meetings, a group of us were asked to poll which was the favorite holiday destination for travelers in Sydney. We all chipped in and I thought why not open this poll up to everyone, it might be a fun exercise just to see what we feel is the top travel destination for citizens in a particular city.

This is a 1st of a series of weekly polls that Wego will be posting in the coming months. The poll would run for 7 days and at the end of each poll, we will release the results together with our internal search data to see determine the winning destination.

Update: Here are the results of the poll – The city with most number of votes is Melbourne, Australia with 27%. Followed by Bali, Indonesia with 22%. And now for the moment of truth, if you have selected Melbourne, you are right! In Sept 2009, Wego search data for travelers orignating from Sydney, Australia had Melbourne as their most searched city.

Wego City pair search for Sept 2009 (Fig 2)

If you are wondering, our Journeys of Inspiration KLM contest 2009 has ended. We would like to thank you for taking part and supporting the contest.

The draw would be done on the 21st of October, please feel free to check if you are the lucky winner of a pair of air tickets to Europe via KLM.

Check it out – Journeys of Inspiration contest 2009

Have you signed up for our Journeys of Inspiration contest yet? If not click here to signup, else here’s some tips on how you can increase your chances in winning.

1. Recruit your friends – Once you signed up, simply use friend forwarder feature and add as many friends as you can to the list. We will send them an email to signup for the contest. Each friend you refer entitles to 1 additional chance for the draw.
2. Tweet – Simply follow Wego, tweet about the contest with #wego included in the tweet and you got yourself an additional chance.

   Please use the user name or state the username used when signing up for the contest.Do note there is a limit to 5 chances per week.

3. Facebook – Become our fan in facebook, update your status in facebook mentioning the contest with “http://bit.ly/inspiration2009″ included in the update. This will get you an additional chance, with a maximum limit of 5 chances per week.

   Here an example -

   “just signed up for Wego Travel Newsletter – http://bit.ly/inspiration2009, on my way to win a pair of tickets to Europe, Wish me luck. ”
   “signed up for Wego Travel Newsletter. Europe here I come, if I win :) – http://bit.ly/inspiration2009”

4. Own a Blog? – Blog about the contest or have a simple write up on the contest or your take about it, Drop us a mail contest@wego.com and you get additional 5 chances. Please include your date of posting and URL to the post or writeup.

You can select one or simply do all the suggested steps above to increase your chances. If you like to check out our FAQ and terms you can fnd them here

Resources

Read the travel contest post here

Banners

Wego and KLM have partnered to develop an exciting competition for Singapore residents. Where 2 prize winners can select a destination from the 80 European cities which KLM flies to daily from Singapore.

The competition theme is “Embark on a journey of experiences and be inspired along the way to your destination.” as KLM’s superior in-flight service means your experiences start the moment you take off.

Make sure you enter http://www.wego.com/contests/inspiration2009/ and increase your chances of wining by forwarding the competition link to your friends

Good Luck

Wego Team

Here’s a list of images if you like to use to promote the contest