INNOVATION REPORT 2015
equivalents in the tour operating sector. Agents spent more per employee
than operators in the telecom services and staff categories, the disparity in the latter projected to widen in 2015 by £296 per person. For spending on computer services,
smaller agents in all the three size categories under 100 employees outstripped operators’ spend per employee by between 50% and 70%. Total spend on computer services
alone by travel agents almost matched the total technology spend by tour operators, coming in at just £1 million less (£115 million). Agents’ reliance on computer
services is expected to grow further in 2015, rising higher than any other category of technology spend by £6.7million to £121 million. This points to a heavier dependency among agents on third-party technology or existing technology that requires support as well as consultancy costs. However, Elliott Pritchard, chief
Travel operators/ employee
AGENTS AND OPE TRAVEL AGENTS
10-49 50-99 100-999 1,000+
2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 1-9 2014
£m 0
Hardware Software
Computer Services Telecome Services Staff Cost TOTAL
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 TRAVEL AGENTS/EMPLOYEE
marketing officer at Travel Republic, said successful firms in the online sector tend to have built systems in-house. “There is always a build versus buy
decision to make, based on cost efficiency, internal capabilities, resource, and time to deliver,” he said. “But the market-leading OTAs run
off their own technology platforms, and having fully-owned software is one of the key ways of building value in a business.” Larger agents with more than 100
No of all employees
staff have a heavier reliance on staff, which is the second-biggest category of technology spend in the sector. Pritchard said investment in
bespoke technology platforms among the more successful OTAs has seen a rise in demand for talented developers. “So the
battleground has been as much around people as it has product,” he added.
No of No of Enterprises Travel Agents 2104
TRAVEL AGENTSNUMBEROF EMPLOYEES 2014
Travel Agents 2105 2015
10-49 50-99 100-999 1,000+
2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 1-9 2014
£/employee 0 3,000 6,000 9,000 12,000 15,000
1-9 staff
10-49 55-99 100- 1,000+999 Travel Agents 2104
1-9 staff
10-49 55-99 100- 1,000+999 Travel Agents 2105
28 — FEBRUARY 2015 —
TRAVOLUTION.CO.UK
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