Wikimedia Might Launch Wikipedia Style Travel Website


Wikipedia is known for providing up-to-date, user aggregated content that is generally seen as accurate and timely. With that in mind Wikimedia, the not-for-profit organization that powers Wikimedia is mulling over the possibility of launching a new travel website.

The move to launch a non-biased travel website could prove invaluable to travelers. These days it is hard to tell if a negative or positive review of an establishment is based in truth or a simple attempt by a competitor to win over or detract from a competitors business.

The Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees have not yet announced the plan officially and it is still unclear if the website would be ad-free like Wikipedia.com and other Wikimedia properties.

The website Skift.com claims that Wikimedia will welcome 31 of 48 Wikitravel administrators to the team. If that is correct the site could take off very quickly as WikiTravel already bares quite the resemblance to Wikipedia.

Wikimedia has become a master of Google search results and a Wikipedia backed travel website could spell trouble for long-established travel websites. With 70 percent of worldwide answers copied from Wikipedia we know the trust factor is already there for users.

The sites biggest draw could be posting accurate information about locations and their surrounding establishments. For example is that hotel you want to stay at really a two-minute walk from the beach or is it a 30-minute walk? Is a hotel’s WiFi worth the $15/night charge in Las Vegas or will it suck your will to live as you try to connect.

Speaking to CNET a Wikimedia representative notes:

[The decision] will take “a few more weeks.”

However, the Wikimedia Board of Trustees has declared itself “excited” at the prospect. The board feels “there is room for multiple travel sites to coexist.”

Would you regularly use a Wikimedia powered travel website?

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