Bringing Long Tail Content to the Fore
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Loading ...There has been a lot of discussion over the last year about the long tail of travel and the move to market and sell specialized travel products. PhocusWright’s Senior Strategist John Bray, in a presentation at the 2007 IFITT Enter Conference, elaborated on the primary differences between Travel 1.0 and Travel 2.0. Mr. Bray pointed out that travel 1.0 was about “Searching for the Lowest Fare” whereas Travel 2.0 is about “Finding the Perfect Trip”. What does this mean exactly? Well, it means that consumers are researching, asking questions, and looking for alternatives... Read more »
Being there is ALL the fun
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...I just read an interesting post on Tim Hughe’s blog about some comments from Rob Cuthbert at Viator about how hard it is for consumers to travel . In the last sentence, Tim writes something that I think is vitally important to the travel purchase experience and that is “the need to keep the purchase and consumption process simple for consumers.” The travel industry, especially the airfare and hotel sides of the industry are rampant with overly complicated pricing models, rates, discounts, commissions, and such. In the end, I think that everyone loses out because the traveler... Read more »
PhoCusWright Long Tail Predictions
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...PhoCusWright, the travel industry research authority released their five predictions about the future of the long tail in travel. The article is excellent and is a clear acknowledgment that technologies such as online booking systems and tour operator software specifically designed for sme tour operators are where the industry is going. Bob Offutt states: “There are low cost and shareware packages that provide the capability for a small travel supplier to accept and confirm reservations online. With the low cost of hardware, it only takes a small investment to put a simple reservation... Read more »
The Long Tail of Travel
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...As a technologist with a focus on tourism and travel technologies I have had the opportunity to work with SME tour operators for some time. For most savvy operators, the opportunity to use new technologies to increase their exposure and bookings is ever present. For some, however, the perceived reality of implementing such a solution is simply too remote, too expensive, and too complex. In actuality there is an ever growing list of systems that can be used for this purpose. There is a huge opportunity to move these disparate providers onto the Internet. The challenge is that many of them are... Read more »
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...For a long time now, prospective travelers have had the ability to search, find and make their basic flight and hotel reservations on-line. Only recently has it been possible for these same travelers to book their destination products, such as sightseeing tours and attraction tickets on line as well. Despite this trend, however, there is still no primary distribution system; which means that most travelers have to visit many different individual websites in order to purchase their destination products. For a tour operator, one of the most important goals is to sell seats. The challenge is how... Read more »
Comparing Web Booking Engines
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...It seems that the Internet is full of applications that allow tour operators, independent hotel and motel owners and packaged vacation providers with online booking capabilities. Many of these booking engines are extremely expensive and many are not. Some are hosted and some are stand-a-lone. So how do you choose one that is right for your organization? Here are some important things to keep in mind as you begin your research and compare the products. 1. Compare apples to apples Many booking engines are actually booking portals. This is especially true if you are an Adventure Travel company or... Read more »
