As consumers, we often see the ubiquitous “new and improved” label on everything from laundry soap to cat food. Do your clothes seem cleaner? Your cat less finicky? Well, anyway, now charter companies are jumping on the new-and-improved bandwagon by upgrading their websites.
Sunsail Sailing Vacations, with bases all over the globe, launched its new U.K. site in May. Its new U.S. site went live in mid-August, two weeks ahead of schedule. I spoke with Peter Cook, Sunsail’s worldwide brand manager, and he explained the rationale for the changes.
Peter said that navigating the sites is easier now because they’re tailored to source markets; that is, the U.K. site is geared toward British travelers and the U.S. site toward Americans. There’s more consistency across the board now because the sites can be continually updated to coincide with current activities as well as the release of print ads and brochures.
Peter said the project has already paid off its cost through the number of vacations booked since the upgrades were put in place. Sunsail will continue to run with this plan, with its French site to be launched in mid-September, its German site in early October, and Australian and English/European sites set for launching in the not-too-distant future.
For a sample vacation itinerary, visit the company www.sunsail.com and click on Quick Quote, a new feature that details destinations, boat availability, and prices.
