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TripAdvisor Acquires Citymaps to Boost Travel Experience

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Online travel booking website TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP - Free Report) announced that it has acquired Citymaps, a social-mapping startup based in New York.

However, the terms of the acquisition were not disclosed by the company.  

What is Social Mapping?

Social mapping is a technology that enables users to discover Points of Interests (POIs) and lets them share their favorite hangouts with friends and family members.

With more and more tourists using Internet on their smartphones for travel related queries, mapping technology is gaining popularity. As per a report published by TripAdvisor in June last year, out of the total number of tourists in the U.S., nearly 81% access maps on their smartphones while being on the move. Apart from the U.S., many tourists around the world also like using maps on their smartphones while traveling.

How Citymaps Fits In?

We note that Citymaps’ acquisition by TripAdvisor is a smart move. Despite a small user base and low rankings in app stores on Android and iOS platforms, Citymaps was acquired by TripAdvisor owing to its innovative technology.

While Apple Maps and Google Maps help the user to go from one place to the other, Citymaps works more like a discovery tool and points out the hot spots on the map, thereby suggesting a visit.

Citymaps aggregates data from various sources. For deals, it sources information from sites like Wikitravel, Groupon, Travelzoo and Viator among others. For performances and events, it makes use of sites like Ticketmaster and Songkick.

Whenever a user opens a map on his/her smartphone, the POIs nearby get automatically highlighted, complete with business logos and photos. When tapped, additional information on the POIs are shown such as reviews and photos uploaded by other users. Moreover, users can also save a personalized map of their favorite POIs through the “Map Collection” feature.

Our Take

TripAdvisor’s acquisition of Citymaps is in line with the company’s goal to augment its non-hotel business segment. We note that during the second quarter, 81% of its revenues came from the hotel offerings segment.

Zacks Rank

At present, TripAdvisor has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology space are Autobytel Inc. and Stamps.com Inc. , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and PetMed Express, Inc. (PETS - Free Report) , carrying a Zacks Rank # 2 (Buy).

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