Google acquires Zagat, solidifies travel offering

In an official blog post, Google's vice-president of local, maps and location services Marissa Mayer wrote that her team would be collaborating with Zagat to integrate Google search and maps with the restaurant guide's products.

This deal follows Google's failed attempt to acquire user-review site Yelp in 2009 for much the same purpose.

Beyond restaurant guides though, Google's newest acquisition, which also offers hotel reviews, when combined with the purchase of ITA, a software tool that organises airline data to help users find the best deal, sets Google firmly on the path to cornering the online travel market. In July, TechCrunch reported that Google would be launching a travel-search site or function this year.

When reached for comment Google had no information about its plans for Asia in relation to its acquisition of the Zagat guide, whose presence is relatively weak in this region. The guide, which is present in "over a hundred cities worldwide", according to Google's blogpost, is heavily US-centric and only covers three countries in Asia-Pacific: China, Japan and South Korea.