"More and more people are booking online," said J. Kent, founder and CEO of youtravel.com, an online resort hotel booking company in Europe for popular seaside destinations, mainly in the Mediterranean, and Aquis Hotels and Resorts. and explains that "when a consumer-traveler hears about a destination or a hotel, the first thing he does is look for it."
You book trips with credit
"Five years ago we would say that most people who book online in tourism are up to 40 years old. "Now anyone can be online, have a credit card and close." He, who will be one of the keynote speakers at the Google Travel Forum, a tourism day organized for the first time in Greece on February 2, traces a course from 1994 as the first "online tour operator", a position he still holds. , launching the "online hotel booking" and "dynamic package" model in the UK in early 2000, while youtravel.com, founded in 2006, has sold holiday packages to Mediterranean destinations to over 700.000 customers.
Growth 19% per year
PhoCusWright estimates that the European online leisure travel market is valued at € 80 billion in 2011. In particular, online travel agencies (OTAs), which provide dynamic holiday packages, are growing at around 19% per year, according to European Online. PhoCusWright Travel Overview, notes Mr. Kent, while the websites of traditional tour operators have a growth of 9%.
In 2012, Europe is expected to become the largest player in the online travel market, with Asia accounting for 20%. Respectively, the forecasts are particularly positive as by 2013 the "free" online travel market worldwide will cover 41% of the total travel market.
"People want more choice," said Kent. "Prices are getting cheaper on the Internet because the intermediate costs are greatly reduced," he adds, adding that "the main reason is the much lower cost of an OTA, compared to the cost of large tour operators." "That's why vacations are usually cheaper online than dynamic packages," he explains, "since the prices given by the hotels are the same."
The UK is by far the first market for online bookings, followed by Scandinavia, France, Belgium and Germany. Urban destinations are more popular in online bookings and dynamic packages, because it is much easier for the consumer to book the hotel separately and the flight afterwards.
Meanwhile, traditional tour operators "are losing their momentum", he emphasizes "that is why they proceed to acquisitions of online companies and develop online companies themselves", since they have to differentiate their product.
In a recent announcement, Thomas Cook in Great Britain states that January, which is the best month of pre-sales, has dropped by 33%. On the other hand, according to TUI data, 42% of the packages sold in 2011 were online.
In Great Britain, the dynamic packages for resorts made by OTAs have risen to 35%, while for the cities the percentage has exceeded 60%, Mr. Kent underlines. While it estimates that the total percentage for online reservations, either through a tour operator or with a dynamic package, exceeds 65%.
Worrying messages about tourism
The recession in Europe will play a role for Greece
The recession in which Europe is entering "will play a role for Greece this year", Mr. Kent estimates, as samples from the country's traditional markets - Germany and Great Britain - are negative and are currently 20% lower than last year. "Exactly at the same time last year we had the same reduction" he notes and explains that the booking time may have changed in general. However, last year the travel agencies "were forced to transfer flights to Turkey and Spain and a part came to Greece as well," he says. "This does not seem to be the case this year, with Egypt already regaining 70% of its share and Tunisia as well," he said, as offers in Egypt range from 30% to 40% lower than in 2010.
At the same time, the uncertainty about the developments in Greece, the front pages of the newspapers that host negative news about the country, combined with the fresh memories of the strikes last summer, act as a deterrent for travelers who want to plan their vacation. "People are affected and avoid going to a country that has a crisis because they can not control it and prefer to go somewhere else," leaving Greece for later, he explains. "We are affected by the developments and the upheaval," he said, adding that "this has an impact mainly on Germany, which is also our largest market."
"Social media is now influencing people a lot," he points out. Review sites (eg Tripadvisor, zoover) "affect bookings, while social media (eg facebook, twitter) affect public opinion" he adds. According to eMarketer, social networking in Western Europe is growing rapidly, with over 100 million Internet users visiting social networks at least once a month. Respectively, the penetration of social media in five European countries (Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Germany) is projected to increase by 64,4% in 2015 from 36,9% in 2009.
Mr. Kent believes that April will be the decisive month of bookings for this season, as "last minute" bookings dominate. The positive messages, however, include the large increase from Russia, Israel, while for the development of this year, he hopes to keep arrivals and revenues at the same levels as in 2011. Markets that are also doing very well for the country are France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
They find, compare, buy
* According to data from Euromonitor International in May 2011, sales through online transactions for holidays in Greece increased by 103% in 2010 reaching 313 million euros.
* The size is by far the largest in growth for e-sales this season and gives a 9% share of the total value of sales for travel compared to 4% in 2009.
* The upward trend for greater penetration in online travel sales intensified in 2010 due to difficult economic conditions in many countries-sources of tourism which consequently affected the available budget for holidays.
* A significant number of customers turned to the Internet to find, compare and buy tourism products at the best available price. The largest share of online transactions for travel services was made with direct suppliers, however their share decreased significantly to 54% in 2010, while online transactions with intermediaries increased by 279% in value covering the remaining share.
* Financial hardship has forced customers to research the Internet before buying their vacation, with intermediaries offering a variety of options and comparisons before making the final choice.
Source: THE STEP