Travelocity Unveils Site for Consumers in Mexico

Travelocity launched Travelocity.com.mx, a Web site targeting consumers in Mexico. Travelocity’s Mexico Web site, its first Spanish site in North America and the first by a U.S.-based online travel agency in Latin America, currently is written in Spanish and English, but it is scheduled to be fully in Spanish in 2008.

Customer service calls for Travelocity’s Mexico site are handled by Spanish-speaking agents in a Travelocity call center in San Antonio, a spokesman said, adding that none are routed overseas.

One reason that U.S.-based online travel agencies haven’t launched sites in Latin America is that travelers’ use of credit cards generally is less frequent than credit card payments by U.S. travelers. Credit card use varies from country to country in Latin America, and use of such plastic in Mexico indeed is less than use by U.S. travelers.

Travelocity spokesman Joel Frey said Travelocity gave much thought to the credit card issue, but it wasn’t a big enough concern to be a deal breaker for the Mexico site. For now, travelers using the Travelocity Mexico site do have to pay through credit cards.