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ITB 2009 • Berlin
NEW MEDIA TRENDS.
PREDICTIONS.
Downturn tipped to drive
Twitterati: industry gets
more travel sales online
MORE THAN half of holidays booked in the UK
to grips with social media
will be made online next year, according to
research by PhoCusWright.
UK online bookings currently account for
44% of the market.
Carroll Rheem, PhoCusWright’s research
Rupert Murray.
for someone to deal solely with social media director, said that in down times “customers
THE MAIN online development in travel and and get involved in online communities and search on the internet for the best offer and
tourism this year will be a change in attitude “conversations”. companies try to reduce their sales costs”.
rather than any new technology, say experts. The panel believed a “social media guy” could Online travel showed double digit growth in
Social media’s newest pin-up, Twitter, was have an enormous impact on business success, 2008 – considerably faster than offline business,
heavily discussed at ITB in Berlin last week. affecting the culture within the organisation and which PhoCusWright research estimated was 3%.
An expert panel and the gathered audience the standing of the company on the web. The company said two in five reservations are
felt 2009 would be the year the industry Travel industry public relations companies made online across Europe and more than half
embraces and understands the power of social were also predicted to catch up this year and of customers use the net for research.
media. become more inventive in getting messages out. The UK was said to be the most established
The key trend, identified by Klaus Hildebrandt, And the panel said companies would start to internet nation in Europe.
editor-in-chief of German travel industry focus more on the volume of mentions and less PhoCusWright expects last-minute bookings to
magazine FVW International, was a change in on the number of clicks, to discover if their brand be strong this year due to holidaymakers shying
philosophy from the top of companies down. was being talked about. away from committing in uncertain times.
He said: “Chief executives will pay attention Travel Rants editor Darren Cronian said Its report said: “Anyone who aims for success
this year and identify social media as an that Twitter would be the main focus of in online travel must be able to react to short-
area of primary importance. It will become a conversation for the time being, because it was term changes in demand. Fundamental success
fundamental part of strategy.” the easiest method of communication between factors are high-performance applications for
The change in philosophy will result in a new companies and consumers, and the easiest dynamic price reduction and packaging, and
role being created in many travel companies way to get advice. classic search engine optimisation.”
YOUNG CLIENTS. INTERNET.
‘Digital natives’ in new Websites: less is more
world of travel booking
THE KEY to success as an online travel agent is
not to try to do too much with your website.
“DIGITAL natives”, or young people as they were Opodo chief executive Ignacio Martos (below),
once called, will have spent an average of 20,000 who began his travel career as a “bricks and
hours online by their 20th birthday. mortar” travel agent, said: “We are a travel
This is the same time it takes to become a agent, so we make sure the customer has
professional piano player, according to Professor everything they need on our site.
Urs Gasser, executive director of Berkman “And if we see another site doing something
Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard useful for our clients, we will link to them.
University. “You cannot be perfect at everything because
He said anyone born since the early 1980s the internet is an enormous world.”
qualified as a digital native because they had
grown up with the technology, and the industry
needed to be aware that this group treated
holidays differently to “digital immigrants”.
“They trust their peers far more than a travel
agent or brochure. And the trip starts online long
before they go and it lasts long after they get BLUNDERBOT: This less than high-tech
back,” he said. robot was spotted lumbering around the
“They will share their experiences as they take ITB exhibition while delegates were told
place through Facebook, Twitter and other sites, about the latest online trends affecting
not wait until they get home.” the travel industry
20.03.2009 11
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