Narrow Foot High Arches

Just after the bursting of the Internet in June 2000, there was some question the real possibilities of success of the newly established online travel agencies.
The rate of penetration of the Internet, the emergence of low cost airlines, changes in consumer habits and the need for distribution after the September 11th attacks of 2001, gave a decisive impetus to a number of global players - Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz, Travelocity - which are now an undeniable part of the great leaders of marketing and distribution.
During this period of growth and consolidation of players online, has repeatedly questioned the role and future of the rest of the elements that make up the distribution sector, mainly traditional travel agencies and tour operators (such as referral from my point of view on the status of the distribution sector and its possible evolution, I refer to my post and presentation "Hosteltur Forum 2008").

resurfaces a few months to force the debate on the viability of online travel agencies in an environment where:
- Increasing pressure on margins becoming increasingly difficult to cover the substantial costs of technology and all marketing.
- Some marketing costs that increase out of control, both by the increasing reliance on search campaigns, for the steady increase betting competitors keywords, actions and similar formats.
- A bet increasingly important for tourism providers - notably airlines, hotels and car hire - in your e strategias direct sales.
- The ever-important " promiscuity" of customers and the ensuing complexity and cost of loyalty.
All this accompanied by some growth of the market much lower than in recent years, also that they share with aggressive traditional players who have awakened from their slumber offline, as well as new companies are entering the sector continuously remains the most successful e-commerce: Travel.

Finding efficiencies in processes and marketing spending as well as the need to continue generating growth makes the OTA's approach has little to do with the leadership of the revolution, and are in consolidation mode and eventually positioning in emerging markets with high growth potential, give them that level of growth and markets in USA and Europe are becoming more complicated - and expensive! - To achieve.

In parallel, there has been an interesting shift in the new tourism businesses online. With a primary focus processes of promotion, inspiration and planning and generation of routes , differentiation based on giving customers the tools to approach the experience, and give secondary importance to the reservation and booking process, which in most cases outsource to third parties.
In the words of CEO of TravelMuse, traditional agencies devote 90% effort to what from the customer point of view would be 10% of the process: The reservation and purchase. The new agencies devoted 90% of his approach to 90% of the process: planning and purchasing decisions and the impact this may have on the loyalty or inspiration to other customers.

On this basis, we have hundreds of companies that explore and exploit these principles, trying to get closer to the customer and their habits, and give a value transaction revenue side, preferring to maximize the commercial value marketing and advertising of their platforms. In this way, mitigate the risk of significant reductions in margins on tourism components, and become allies of both dealers and suppliers.
top of that, these new online travel agency today represent the cutting edge of innovation in tourism and real customer focus, needs and changing their habits.

addition to metasearch engines, which could be the first generation of this new perspective on travel sites, and pages of user reviews - TripAdvisor type - we see a plethora of new pages that will leave some of the global leaders of coming years. Some who have to go considering:
www.tripsay.com
www.planeteye.com
www.travelmuse.com
www.tripwolf.com
www.nileguide.com
www.farecompare.com
www.
tvtrip.com www.dopplr.com

Being Banned From Coach Stores

NEW ONLINE AGENCIES Crisis, Productivity and Innovation



I read with interest the interview with Roland Berger, president of consulting firm Strategic same name, published in El Pais Business, this Sunday ( www.elpais.com/articulo/empresas/Espana/tiene/problemas/estructurales/elpepueconeg/20080824elpnegemp_2/Tes) and I can not help extrapolate the impact of some of their claims to the English tourism sector.

I first jumped on to read the headline. " Spain has structural problems." Mr. Berger referred to here in a generic, our reliance - for growth and employment - of construction, besides the lack of labor flexibility, increased labor costs that is not accompanied by significant increases productivity, lack of training, infrastructure and innovation.
I think with minimal nuances, all these points are applicable to the tourism sector, including development of dependence on construction, because I believe that one of the most important strategic weaknesses of our product and receptive - especially on the coasts and Islands - destinations that we have developed is based on real estate impulses, then we come to sell (or say better. That after we have dispatched recruiters to the tour operators), rather than design and build opportunities to meet medium and long term demand in specific markets.
When Roland Berger predicts the duration of the crisis until 2010 or 2011, I have the following question. In an increasingly competitive and complex, where the cover of the brochure of the tour operator and distribution of airline seats is not enough to have a significant presence in the market. What we stand to compete and maintain a clear sectoral leadership?

The second group of reflections of Mr. Berger are in line with increases in labor costs with productivity static that makes us less competitive on an ongoing basis - particularly in those tourism products more commoditized. Here
competitive in the next years it has even less flattering: Increased labor costs - which does not seem to be able to stop, maintenance - the best - in productivity, a drop in demand due to the crisis, accompanied by an increase the rivalry between destinations, particularly in advocacy, marketing and distribution margins drop - the downturn in demand and increased costs of flights, leaving little room to improve operating margins. A scenario like this in any business of a certain size would have the entire management team working on plans and alternatives to mitigate the risks and exploit opportunities arising in this environment. What must happen in our industry to be promoted these processes?

Roland Berger dare with some proposals for action palira the effects of this crisis, and here we can apply almost all of their suggestions to the tourism sector: zero
* Increased labor costs accompanied by a significant increase in productivity .
* Public and private investments in infrastructure and INNOVATION
* Firm commitment to become a center for talent development and training
If we compare these points with the strategic challenges above, we see that productivity, training and talent, could be consequences or results of the implementation of strategic plans to review the situation in the sector, and focusing on becoming a world leader in the promotion, tourism marketing and distribution. And even, why not, a leader in the development and management of tourist products and destinations. All that is
INNOVATION. To all this is what I encourage, push and provoke, from this blog, from my lectures and classes, or my participation in business events.
not move in this direction will only be prolonging the agony of a model tourism marketing obsolete, and a model of product development and highly improved tourist destinations.

The Horizon Plan 202 0 ( www.turismo2020.es/) should be a good starting point, and offers a more than adequate for it ... We will have the political leadership and industry to give it a try? We'll see the return of summer ...