Orbitz Worldwide is focused on two missions: building its hotel and media businesses.
In a bow to its media goals, Orbitz launched AdventureFinder, a business that enables tour operators to advertise their trips and take bookings on their own websites.
In so doing, Orbitz retired its GorpTravel.com brand, which used a similar business model for tour operators, and made AdventureFinder the principal brand within OWW's Away Network focused on escorted adventure tours and resorts.
As Orbitz gets ready to drive traffic to tour operator listings on AdventureFinder, it found there was too much confusion between the now-displaced GorpTravel.com and sister website Gorp.com, a trip-planning site for adventurous souls.
The launch of AdventureFinder follows Orbitz's resurrection last year of two dormant domains, Trip.com and Lodging.com, and their transformation into media businesses.
AdventureFinder offers a directory for tour operators which is priced on a PPC basis.
In one, new upcoming twist, Orbitz says consumers will be able to use AdventureFinder's Trip Profile pages to directly question tour operators about their trips before actually booking them.
Orbitz says AdventureFinder -- when compared with GorpTravel.com -- provides "a sleek user interface and refined search and sort tools (which) make it easy for travelers to quickly find the active adventures that best suit their needs."
AdventureFinder tells potential advertisers that the benefits of its Traveler Direct Marketing Program include qualified leads, performance-based pricing, and access to sponsored emails and banner campaigns.