Expedia, which is one of the world’s largest online travel companies, has announced that it has appointed Nicolas Chu as General Manager of its Australia and New Zealand operations. In this new role, he is now responsible for the development and operations of the company in Australasia.

Prior to this role, Nicolas Chu was director of retail and product strategy for Expedia Asia Pacific. He was responsible for Expedia’s websites in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and India. Mr Chu’s several years of experience in website strategic vision, and his impressive capabilities in e-commerce retailing, project management and advanced technologies, makes him perfect for this new job.

Before he joined Expedia France in 2004 as the manager of the e-commerce production team, he was a Senior Project Manager with GDS Amadeus. Mr Chu said that Expedia in Australia and New Zealand combined are now within the top seven markets of Expedia worldwide. Their ambition in this market is to become the single best place for travelers to book travel online.

Mr Chu’s appointment follows a few months after the appointment of Dan Lynn, Managing Director of Expedia Asia Pacific. He replaced Arthur Hoffman following his appointment as managing Director of Venere.com, which is another Expedia subsidiary based in Rome.

Earlier this month, Expedia unveiled its first TV and cinema brand campaign in Australia and New Zealand. Thus, it would appear that Expedia has some big ideas for these countries. This is good news for both places, which have taken a beating from the downturn in the economy as far as tourism goes. Expedia is looking to return these areas to their former glory.