How Flickr helps cleartrip sell more travel packages

Cleartrip.com - an online travel portal has started a new section called Small World. The feature showcases select destinations around one's residence or internationally. This a is really novel service - not only users get to 'preview' a holiday location, the approximate travel and lodging expenses are flashed immediately on the screen.

Once you click on a chosen destination, you are taken to a detailed view of the destination with a Google Map 'to' the location, a slideshow of photos from the destination, flight and hotel details arranged in 4 boxes on the screen. The flights with their prices are displayed in a calendar format while the hotels can be rearranged by their tariffs and traveler rating using sliders. The Google Map widget also has markers for Sites, Restaurants, shopping destinations and entertainment hot spots.

The fun part is that Cleartrip has partnered with Yahoo / Flickr and Lonely Planet - the slideshows showcasing are made using photos from flickr ... and are very captivating! This is one of the finest examples of blending Web2.0 (crowdsourcing, wisdom of crowds etc.) with real hard business practice to enhance the value of your product.

Also, while the new Ajax controls like sliders, calendar and slideshow are now commonplace, their integration on a single screen makes the package appealing! Go take a look!

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