Travelocity Forms Marketing Alliance With Visa

The SABRE Group said that its Travelocity site and Visa have formed a marketing alliance to leverage the growing online travel market.

Under the terms of the agreement, Travelocity will designate Visa as its preferred payment card. Visa will receive prominent branding and banner advertising throughout the Travelocity Web site.

The partners also will collaborate on a series of promotions designed to encourage online consumers to shop Travelocity and use their Visa cards for online travel purchases.

Visa will be the exclusive sponsor of Travelocity’s Virtually There Personal Destination Guide, a new site feature that gives online bookers a personalized overview of attractions, restaurants and weather for their travel destination. Travelocity also will be featured as Visa’s Merchant of the Month on the company’s Web site. Financial arrangements were not disclosed.

“With the number of consumers buying travel online expected to grow more than 900% by the year 2003, there is unlimited potential for Visa and Travelocity to reach one of the fastest-growing audience segments in electronic commerce,” said Terry Jones, chief information officer of The SABRE Group.