Too often, though, it seems the travel planning process is taxing rather than motivating. It feels like you have to visit one site to get destination inspiration, another to book flights, another to check out travel maps, and so on. Even when you do find the information you’re looking for, things can be prohibitively expensive.
Today we’re excited to announce new travel experiences from Microsoft Bing that help you save time and money on travel planning while helping you find inspiration for your next adventure. Our one-stop shop provides aggregated information on all facets of travel – from destination and itineraries to flights and hotels and more – and presents it in a visually rich format.
For those with a specific destination in mind, simply search for the location on Microsoft Bing.
The Travel Guide serves as a jumping-off point for your trip-planning needs. You can click a suggested itinerary under ‘What to see & do’ for the trip duration to get an idea of what your trip might look like. Or, if you want to book the basics first, click ‘Book flights’ or ‘Book hotels’ to get a full-page booking experience. We’ve partnered with top industry players to find you the competitive rates, so you can be sure you are getting the best prices. And if you’re pressed for time, we offer packages of bundled hotel and flight experiences to make booking a breeze.
For those who have a sense of wanderlust but no firm destination ideas, the Travel Guide home page is also a great starting point to find further inspiration. The page rotates through top destinations worldwide – when once catches your eye, you can click ‘Explore more’ to visit the detailed page for that place.
If you’re a visual person seeking stunning landscapes, you can click ‘Experience in 360’ to check out immersive views. This is also a great way to explore for those who aren’t planning to leave home but are curious nonetheless!
If you’re more interested in your taste buds, you can explore our ‘Eat & Drink’ carousel to start getting excited about the dishes and beverages you can expect to taste.
And finally, if you’re mostly interested in sticking to a budget, you can scroll down to the ‘Coupons & Deals’ section to browse cost-conscious options for flights, trip packages, and more.
Our goal with this experience was to help users in every step of travel planning, from inspiration to booking and beyond, whether you know exactly where you want to go, or just know you want to spend some time away from home. This rich experience is currently available in the US and will be available in more markets in the near future.
We hope you’re as excited by this experience as we are; as always, please feel free to leave your thoughts via the Feedback button on the lower right-hand corner on Bing.com pages!