business Essential news, comment and analysis


Andy Duncan: ‘It will be interesting to see whether people will be


reluctant to go with companies with a digital-only background’


‘Digital travel firms must not forget the customer’


Technology should not mean a lack of responsibility, Travelopia chief Andy Duncan tells Ian Taylor


Digital businesses can display a “lack of responsibility” and it’s time they were regulated and that the travel industry developed guidelines, says the chief executive of Travelopia.


Andy Duncan, who was head of National Lottery operator Camelot, chief executive of Channel 4 and worked at the BBC before joining Travelopia just over a year ago, said: “Digital incumbents’ lack of responsibility is typical. “Take the media – [where] you


72travelweekly.co.uk18 April 2019


have Facebook and Instagram. There is a lack of regulation and a lot of controversy – inappropriate news coverage, inappropriate use of data, inappropriate content. “It has taken these companies a long time to wake up to their responsibilities. Even now they are only doing it because they are pushed to by governments and the public. It’s not in their DNA, and that sometimes reflects on digital start-ups. They come up with a great idea and have venture capital


backing, but they are not close to the feelings of the customer.” Duncan will be a keynote


speaker at Abta’s Travel Convention in Tokyo in October where he will speak on the convention theme of ‘Brave New World’, addressing the speed and scale of change in travel. He said: “It will be interesting


to see whether people will be reluctant to go with companies with a digital-only background. Just because you have great technology does not mean you don’t have responsibility. Some businesses have great technology and the way they deal with issues


CONTINUED ON PAGE 70


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80