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From left: Ruairidh Roberts, Google; Greig Holbrook, Oban Digital;


Olly Brendon, ATD Travel Services;


and Hugo Burge, Momondo Group


‘Web’s lack of boundaries fuels internationalisation’


EXPERTS WARN OF OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS FOR UK FIRMSGOINGGLOBAL. JENNIFERMORRIS REPORTS FROM A TRAVEL WEEKLY BUSINESS BREAKFAST


The UK market is in prime position to internationalise, but the borderless nature of the internet also means we face constant competition from around the globe, travel technology leaders warned.


Britain, and London in particular, offers a wealth of global talent for firms to draw upon, and is regarded as advanced in technological terms. However, there has been an


‘explosion’ in internet and app usage around the world, meaning


80 travelweekly.co.uk 5 November 2015


overseas companies can easily enter the UK market and take business from firms based here, according to the boss of online travel technology company Momondo Group. Chief executive Hugo Burge said:


“We are living in an extraordinary time. Your product can go global in a way that it never could. “At the same time, there’s an opportunity for other companies to come into your market.” Greig Holbrook, founder of multilingual search and conversion


rate agency Oban Digital, said the climate for internationalisation had changed radically since he claimed in March that he had not seen a market better set for the process than the UK. “I was in New York in February and Alibaba, the Chinese e-tailor, had just started making a big push,” he said. “They’ve announced they are coming into the UK as well. “Now it is not just the threat of


you not going international; it’s the threat of people coming in and taking your business as well. “Alibaba has certainly come in


and shaken up the US market in that sense. Things change – a year in digital is like a dog’s year.”


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PICTURES: MATT SPRAKE


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