NYTimes.com today announced the addition of interactive destination maps on its Travel site (http://www.nytimes.com/travel), the latest enhancement since its relaunch earlier this year. The addition of interactive maps provides readers with the ability to find hotels, restaurants and attractions by location, making it much easier to plan vacations and create detailed travel itineraries.
Interactive street-level maps ( http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/france/paris/maps.html) are now available for over 400 destinations and 13,000 venues in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other select areas around the world. The maps will be updated weekly to include locations mentioned in The New York Times Travel section, giving readers the unique opportunity to visualize, and now map, the information they read in the newspaper. In the coming months, the site will continue to add relevant maps to meet the needs of a sophisticated audience of travelers.
In making the announcement, Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager, NYTimes.com said, "In just a month since the relaunch of our Travel site, we've seen a terrific response from both our readers and advertisers. The integration of interactive maps is the latest in a series of enhancements and tools that enable readers to easily plan their trips with us."
The maps are powered by Google technology and include street-level and satellite views, with customized icons signifying different venues such as hotels, restaurants and bars and other attractions. Times Picks, recommendations from New York Times travel writers and editors, are highlighted with check marks.
The Travel site relaunched in early January this year with over 1,000 global destination guides, reviews, itineraries and suggestions from New York Times journalists and readers; guidebook information from Frommer's; improved navigation and search; and an online booking engine. Since the relaunch, dozens of venue pages have been added on a weekly basis, in conjunction with The Times's coverage. In the coming months, new features and tools will be added to further engage the site's community of readers.