There are more and more individuals using the Web to arrange their own holidays or trips. In a competitive world, professionals are reacting to this trend.
è Is the online booking due to its easiness or to its competitive prices?
Despite international bad events like economic crisis, Icelandic volcano, Tunisia and Egypt news rebellion, online tourism is growing rapidly.
This year online tourism is particularly picking up: the rate of increase is about 20% and the turnover about 12 billion. This trend looks irreversible: more than 90% of holidaymakers are looking for information on the Internet prior to their departure. They are expected even more to buy on the Web in the future. Companies in the tourism industry are using new business strategies to follow this trend.
On the 9th of February of 2011 a merger was announced: Opodo Voyages and eDreams .This new giant will make the market move. “Those who won't react will die” says Jean-Pierre Nadir, Easy voyage CEO. He has personally bought out three of his European competitors. J.P. Nadir thinks that online purchases lead to price transparency whereas the consumer is more active at the same time.
The low cost companies triggered this exponential growth. Indeed they have encouraged tourists to buy separately their flight tickets and hotel rooms. This strategy has led to a larger market, particularly in Europe.
The consumer wants to be given a securitized online payment; moreover he has become an expert on tourist products comparison, thanks to the websites Trip advisor and Easy voyage. Therefore he may be able to purchase by his own ordinary products like airline tickets.
Flights are sold by 40% online through websites such as eBookers, Go Voyages or Opodo. Hotel rooms follow the same trend. Online sales of packages like "séjour-club" are improving more slowly (20%).Nonetheless they are expected to grow in the future.
Beside Lastminute and Expedia, big Tour operators decided to join the fight. Thomas Cook or TUI ( Nouvelles Frontières, Marmara) propose their own website to sell directly to consumers and divide their distribution costs by two. But they are not succeeding so far. The reason is that they are not as skilled in web technology and web marketing as "pure players" like Promovacances.
All these new trends are the result of the growing power and easy accessibility of the Internet and Web 2.0. However, the low cost has a huge impact on ebooking too. In fact, online travel agencies have a low cost strategy in comparison with traditional ones.
Lastminute.com or promovacances.com are offering competitive prices for packages all inclusive while traditional travel agencies can’t cut prices as much as they do. This way, individuals are more likely to book on line, it is both easier and cheaper for them. Tourism professional have well understood this trend and are proposing offers more and more attractive and impressive.
What for the future? Are the travel agencies dying? Will tourism only be an online issue?
By Isabelle Masseglia & Amandine Amphoux
Article: http://www.veilleinfotourisme.fr/1297949591699/0/fiche___article/
Image from: http://www.testeur-voyage.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/tourisme-en-ligne-3.jpg
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