Travelocity relaunches IgoUgo

Travelocity is relaunching IgoUgo, its travel advertising and review site.

The site has a new logo and interface with interlinks to Twitter and Facebook.

For individual destinations users can access an “I’ve been here” feature, which serves up profiles and travel tips from some of IgoUgo’s 540,000 members.  However, bear in mind that the number of members and reviews on IgoUgo  is a lot lower than TripAdvisor and probably even less reliable.

The “I’ve been here” feature is a copycat of other social-travel collaboration attempts, such as TripAdvisor Trip Friends and TravelPost Connections, where the user can look for trip recommendations from people in their social networks.  The snag is, this is a waste of time unless your friends compulsively post on these sites about places they’ve been.  Most don’t – so the user would be better off asking them directly on Facebook instead.

As IgoUgo tests the new site in anticipation of a Sept. 27 “official” launch, it also takes a pot at other review sites such as TripAdvisor, though it doesn’t actually name names.

“While other sites seem to focus on where not to go, IgoUgo is all about advice from others who have had great trips, rather than people lodging complaints,” the IgoUgo spokesman says.

The new site is undoubtedly better looking, clean and devoid of the ghastly pop-ups that litter TripAdvisor like a rash, but as far as reviews and advice go it doesn’t sound any better – TripAdvisor, for all its faults, looks set to remain Number 1.