TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS
PHOCUSWRIGHT EUROPE 2015: Rebekah Commane reports from travel forum in Dublin
WEB GIANTS: TUI BOSS ADMITS HE FEARS THE POWER OF GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK
The joint chief executive of Tui Group admitted the possibility of Facebook, Google or Amazon entering the travel industry was his “biggest worry”. Peter Long said existing operators didn’t concern him, adding: “Travel companies don’t keep me awake at night. “Facebook, Google and Amazon are the ones that could change the shape of our industry and marginalise competitors. “They’re my biggest worry because
they’re huge and powerful.” Speaking at the Phocuswright conference in Dublin, fresh from the UK market leader confirming plans to phase out the Thomson and First Choice brands in favour of a Tui master brand, Long said Tui had needed to adapt to the “change and disruption that is ever-present” in the travel industry. “The new big change and dimension for
Tui Group, as opposed to Tui Travel, is our ownership and control of content, which will drive the security and sustainability of our model,” said Long. “We built Hotelbeds from scratch 12
years ago and it’s now the world’s largest wholesaler of hotel rooms. “We are now embarking on a journey
to create the Tui brand. We believe that in the next decade the winners will be power brands recognisable across the world.” Long described Tui as the “world’s
largest integrated tourism business, with
AIRLINES: RYANAIR CHIEF TIPS CARRIERS TO SELL DIRECT
Ryanair’s chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs predicted that airlines will operate increasingly direct to consumers, as they focus more on a digital offering. Speaking at the Phocuswright conference in Dublin, Jacobs said the “only way was up” in terms of what he could bring to the business he joined 16 months ago, adding that the airline was “evolving the customer experience approach” and was spending more on digital.
Peter Long
“They’re my biggest worry as they’re huge and powerful”
access to over 20 million customers”. He acknowledged that the company had been behind in understanding the digital customer, but said it was now implementing a customer management system with SAP. The Tui joint boss said the company planned to enhance its app to include more information, such as boarding passes, the destination’s weather and a holiday countdown function. ❯ Analysis, page 12 ❯ Tui app, page 34 ❯ Comment, page 42
He said airlines had a great opportunity to sell more than flights by offering hotels, car hire and activities on their websites. “People think of their flight first, so airlines have a good opportunity to sell more with the booking,” he said. “I see us going from selling flights to becoming a travel business that will always specialise in flights.” He revealed that the airline
intends to become more active on Facebook and plans to integrate a share button on its website so that customers can share flight details with others. Jacobs said airlines as a whole “aren’t great at digital”
ONLINE: 21 MILLION BRITS ACCESS TRAVEL VIA MOBILE DEVICES
About 17.5 million Britons access travel content online only via their smartphone each month, according to a study commissioned by Expedia Media Solutions. A further 3.5 million UK travellers do so using both smartphone and tablet. The survey found that while PC usage remains high, mobile device ownership continues to rise in the UK – doing so at a faster rate than in the US – highlighting the importance for marketers to optimise content across devices. The research also found that mobile devices
are being used across all travel stages, but content engagement varies between tablets and smartphones. A total of 66% of mobile users engage with travel via a browser, but 21% access travel content only through apps. Mobile usage, especially on tablets, peaks during primetime, the study found, while PC leads engagement throughout the workday. Noah Tratt, Expedia global senior vice-president of media solutions, said: “The time spent in an app is longer than in a browser.
“On smartphones people spend 30.1 minutes in an app and 8.6 minutes in a browser – more than three times as much time.”
but predicted that this will change. “I think we will see airlines urging consumers to go to them direct and to download their own app,” he said. “We [Ryanair] are now more than 90% direct. “A year from today we will have a much
better website – we’ll be more trusted, and more people will go on a Ryanair holiday.” Jacobs told the Travel Distribution Summit in London this month that Ryanair would launch its new website this September. It also revealed that its
Kenny Jacobs
fares and ancillary services will be available on the Sabre global distribution system from June. Ryanair already works with Travelport and Amadeus.
21 May 2015 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 79
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