Teletext Holidays, probably the main reason anyone still uses the ageing TV text brand, is going full-steam into developing its mobile offering, and plans to offer holidays for sale wirelessly. Mobile and products head Gary Merry sees it, a “successful mobile holiday portal” isn’t yet out there - though he reckons there is money to be made in additional services around such a site in things like location-based offers and downloadable guides.

Teletext launched its mobile offering in April, and will either buy or build mobile applications that can be used on its own channel, or licensed to other travel providers, Merry told Travolution.

It’s not hard to see why Teletext is eager to crack the mobile market. There was a time back in the late 90s when Teletext Holidays, through its clunky old TV text site, was responsible for shifting nearly one in six of all last-minute holidays and almost one in eight of all holiday packages sold in the UK. But those days are gone, thanks to the endless number of travel sites online, and the steady growth of digital text on TV.

But has Teletext Holidays jumped the gun in its bid to keep up its “first mover” advantage? The mobile site will start selling ski packages in the upcoming winter season, along with the other holiday deals it offers.

Problem is, the process isn’t exactly a seamless one - though you can browse the site for holidays, customers have to call into Teletext to fulfill their purchase. As Merry concedes: “It’s quite complicated technically to build the booking technology for package holidays into a mobile platform.” Plus, “there’s still a way to go” before people will actually book on their mobiles. “People like talking to people,” Merry notes.