Yahoo is set to revamp its travel Web site early Wednesday to offer new mapping features and a chat-based collaboration tool, as well as personalized trip recommendations and travel deals.
What Netflix has done for movies and what Amazon has done for book recommendations we"re doing for travel recommendations," said Jasper Malcolmson, director of Yahoo Travel.
Yahoo Travel combines Yahoo FareChase, which finds low-priced air fares, with Yahoo Trip Planner, a social network for travelers and would-be travelers where they can plan trips, create interactive maps and keep online journals and photos, he said. The site will allow people to insert tags, like "romantic" or "family-oriented," so others can find trips with similar themes. A new "Today"s Picks" section will highlight 10 destinations, and a "Show Me" drop-down box will let people browse based on categories such as beach, art/architecture and nightlife.
The site also will offer hotel and flight options based on the nearest airport to the traveler and the most popular prices chosen by Yahoo users.