Travel Logic creates new jobs

06-06-2008

by Emmet Ryan

Irish tourism software firm Travel Logic is to take on an additional four staff as it invests in developing its business.

The company, which develops marketing software for the tourism industry, was formally launched by the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan on Friday.

The Sligo-based firm is about to launch its products on the market and is taking on the additional staff to aid in the release of the software. One of the new employees will operate in the firm's sales and marketing operation. The other three are being hired as part of an innovation partnership with Enterprise Ireland. These employees, who will work on developing Travel Logic's software, will work towards Masters degrees in Sligo Institute of Technology over the next two years while working with Travel Logic.

"I'm delighted to see innovative hi-tech enterprise basing itself in North West region. It brings high-quality direct employment and revenue into the region and at the same time helps regional hotels and groups to compete successfully with their urban multi national counterparts," said Minister Coughlan. "This is all very much part of the Government's ongoing programme for regional development."

Travel Logic develops software for hotels and other firms in the tourism industry that provides an entire e-marketing system for clients, delivering services such as online sales, online advertising and SMS advertising.

Travel Logic began developing its software in 2004. To date, EUR500,000 has been invested. The company says it is on target to deliver direct sales of more than EUR2 million to its clients and this is forecast to grow to EUR10 million in 2009 and EUR20 million in 2010.

Conor Daly, founder and managing director of Travel Logic, told ENN that Irish hotels need to more actively use e-marketing to attract web savvy visitors. "People are looking at the big portals such as Expedia when they look for a hotel online but they are also searching for the individual hotels they find on these portals through Google," he said.

Daly said that in order for Irish hotels to entice these visitors, business websites needed to be useful and attractive to casual web surfers. "The challenge for hotels in Ireland is to make sure their websites are easy to use," he said.