18.02.2008 – 10:00

Satellite maps with zooming features make hotel reservations easier: At http://www.groups.ch, travelers have the opportunity to check out vacation destinations from the sky

- Note: Photos are available for free download at: 
 http://presseportal.ch/de/pm/100004727/contact_groups_ch/?langid=2 -

When making reservations, the precise location of
the vacation hotel or seminar venue is frequently the deciding
factor. Location maps and route planners fail if street names and
house numbers are not available. And this is almost always the case
if the travel destination is located in the mountains or in rural
areas. To provide more insights in these cases, CONTACT groups.ch now
shows its member hotels and vacation rentals in bird's eye view maps
with zoom functions.

After months of preparatory work, all 654 vacation rentals and
hotels have been precisely positioned via satellite on
http://www.groups.ch. Thanks to the new satellite maps, guests can
now zoom in close to the object and determine the exact location
inside or outside of any village. They can even take a virtual tour
of the immediate vicinity of the venue: How large is the garden area
in front of the house? Where is the closest forest or brook? What is
the distance from the ski lifts? A click on the detailed map provided
for each individual house description provides all the information.
The close cooperation with Switzerland Tourism has made the provision
of this service possible.

Not all Swiss regions enjoy the benefits of equally high quality
maps at this time. In Ticino, for instance, if you zoom in close to a
house, the image is still somewhat blurry. Given the extreme cost of
producing these types of maps, it is safe to assume that the photos
will only be updated every few years. Consequently, more recent
building additions are not depicted. However, this is not of critical
importance for those looking for some basic orientation. In
particular in the alpine, sub-alpine and Jura vacation destinations,
the central orientation points do indeed stay the same.

ots original source: CONTACT groups.ch
Internet: http://www.presseportal.ch

Contact:

German, English, Italian:
Christina Aenishänslin
General manager
Phone: +41/61/926'60'00

French, German:
Corinne Hergenröder
Authorized company representative
Phone: +41/61/926'60'00

CONTACT groups.ch
Hotels and Chalets for Groups
Spitzackerstr. 19
4410 Liestal, Switzerland
Phone: +41/61/926'60'00