FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Travel Website Company
Contact: Sara Widness/Jennifer Hawkins
Hawkins & Widness
670 Broadway, Suite 505
New York, NY 10012
646-602-7010 / 646-602-7020(Fax)
hwpri@hawkinsandwidness.comGUIDEBOOK AUTHORS, OTHER TRAVEL SPECIALISTS PAIRED TO PLAN AND DELIVER CUSTOMIZED INTERNATIONAL VACATIONS FOR TIME-IMPAIRED UPSCALE TRAVELERS
New Internet company, 12degrees, makes "virtual house calls" connecting independent travelers with unique worldwide network of experts
PALO ALTO, CA, August 2000 -- Where do 3 million demanding, curious, cultured and fairly affluent Americans go when they want to turn their highly individual tastes and interests into a one-of-a-kind international travel experience?
Accustomed to turning to specialists, be they in law or medicine, time- impaired consumers want the best advice from those who know travel best.
And who knows travel better than those intrepid travel guidebook authors who comb exotic highways and byways to filter the details of their experiences to hungry travelers.
A new and innovative travel company, 12degrees, has assembled an impressive cast of leading travel guidebook authors and travel specialists to pay "virtual house calls" on the Internet.
Ask for uncrowded beaches, archaeological wonders, spiritual places, Wagner, whales or bluebonnets to receive a unique prescription for a totally customized trip anywhere in the world.
12degrees uses the convenience of Internet technology to connect travelers - - for whom time is a luxury and curiosity a given -- with passionate guidebook authors and experienced travel specialists who will research, plan and purchase for their clients fully independent, all-inclusive international travel programs.
It has never been done like this before, guarantees 12degrees founder and CEO Steve Bisset.
"The U.S. foreign leisure travel market is estimated at almost $50 billion a year, with half of that spent on custom vacations," says Bisset.
"But, for over 3 million people at the top end of that market, the process of finding a travel experience that fully matches their curiosity and desires has been frustrating. These demanding travelers have no time to waste trying to find credible, knowledgeable advice. If they do know what they want, they still have to find someone -- or several people -- who can actually put everything together in a comprehensive trip," Bisset says.
12degrees' authors, many of whom are published by, among others, Fodor's, Lonely Planet, Insight Guides, Rough Guide and Thomas Cook, have developed itineraries to explore those tried and true, as well as exotic, international destinations.
As 12degrees is being launched this month, there are over 30 guidebook authors on call to assist clients, Bisset says.
The itineraries, customized with the assistance and direct input of the authors, can be thematically oriented: cuisine, art history, archeology, wildlife safaris, romance, castle tours, sailing trips, historic hotels, for example.
Also on 12degrees call, in addition to authors, are travel specialists who are/have been tour leaders, lecturers, professors, journalists and historians, many of whom are natives of their region of specialty or have lived there for an extended period of time.
"12degrees lets you use the Internet to consult with the world's genuine travel experts, to craft an itinerary customized down to the smallest detail. Then they actually buy the entire itinerary for you," Bisset says. "You are assured that 12degrees experts are spending their time -- not your time -- to make your demands and expectations a reality."
Bisset promises that the process is simple. When clients log onto www.12degrees.com they have two main choices:
Browse Trip Ideas -- surf through sample itineraries created by the company's stable of eminent guidebook authors.
Consult with 12degrees -- contact a travel coordinator by e-mail or phone to discuss your needs.
You can also review biographies of the dozens of authors and specialists featured on the site and then link to any of the Trip Ideas the authors have created about exciting destinations around the world.
Regardless of which path a client takes to enter the 12degrees site, the goal is to connect the traveler with the right expert(s) who will custom- craft a vacation that satisfies highly personal travel desires. This is accomplished via a one-to-one consultation with experts by e-mail and/or telephone. The author(s) and expert(s) might modify a sample Trip Idea itinerary or create a completely new one.
The fee for personal itinerary consultation varies depending on how much of the author's time is required. The cost ranges from $75 to $125 an hour, depending on the author, who gives the client in advance an estimate of how long it will take to put the adventure together.
Once an itinerary is finalized, the travel specialists fill in the details: air tickets, car rentals, accommodations, dinner reservations, theater tickets, museum admissions, private guide services and more.
"In short, ideas become reality and the trip is planned, purchased and ready to be enjoyed. We don't pack your bags, but we can tell you what to bring," said Bisset. "Throughout the process, a 12degrees travel coordinator ensures that clients, authors and travel specialists are working from the same script and achieving the client's goals. We're personally accessible through our toll-free Help Desk."
Tom Brosnahan, one of 12degrees' guidebook authors, exemplifies the professional expertise of 12degrees authors. He has been writing guidebooks on Turkey for more than 30 years.
"If people are going to Turkey for the first time, what they -- what anyone -- want most is reassurance. They want to know the details, but they also want decision-making. I think I can help plan trips and also reassure that they will have a good travel experience by helping them make the decisions they need to make," says Brosnahan, noting that the Internet at large can be a curse and a blessing when it comes to travel.
"The Internet gives you more information than you can digest, it's free and the price is right. But free information is almost valueless information. You don't know if it's good or bad or the answer to your question. There's no substitute to having a really knowledgeable person, and that's where 12degrees comes in," says Brosnahan.
The origin of the name 12degrees dates to the ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy who observed the difference between true and magnetic North. At the time and place Ptolemy did his research, the difference was 12degrees. Bisset believes 12degrees is a fitting symbol for independent- minded travelers seeking individually tailored experiences beyond the ordinary.
"Trips created by 12degrees go much deeper than the surface; they're never what you would expect -- or find -- by using traditional methods of planning and buying a vacation. To us, 12degrees represents the difference between an extraordinary journey and a prepackaged trip," says Bisset.
For further information, contact Mark Campbell, Vice President of Marketing at 12degrees.com at 650-717-9400, extension 23 or visit the website at www.12degrees.com .
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