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High-Flying Tigers of Online Travel

The Asia-Pacific region includes economies at polar opposites of the online development spectrum.

Australia, Japan and South Korea have advanced digital infrastructures with mature e-commerce and online travel sectors, according to Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Asia-Pacific Online Travel: Focus on China and India.

"At the other end of the spectrum, while countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia are less developed, they are growing fast," he said.

But the real action lies in the middle.

"It is the massive online travel markets of China and India that will drive growth in the region," Mr. Grau said.

eMarketer estimates that online travel bookings in China were worth $1.5 billion in 2006, and it projects that average annual increases of 60% will push the Chinese market to $15.4 billion in 2011.

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Top five online travel markets in Europe

According to PhoCusWright, the individual markets of Europe, in particular the top five U.K., Italy, France, Germany and Spain demonstrate the variety of paths that developing e-commerce economies can take.

The individual markets of Europe, in particular the top five (U.K., Italy, France, Germany and Spain) demonstrate the variety of paths that developing e-commerce economies can take. Hence, PhoCusWright has undertaken a country-by-country research effort covering these five markets and the European market as a whole, resulting in six new reports.

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Canada’s online travelers shop differently

One third of all travel in Canada will be booked online this year, but with a highly consolidated air market and fragmented hotel and car rental markets, Canada's online travelers shop and buy travel very differently than their U.S. counterparts.

A new report, from PhoCusWright Inc. reveals companies seeking to participate in the surging online travel opportunity must understand the distinct dynamics of Canada. Analysis of the findings and the global online travel landscape will be presented at the upcoming Canadian e-Tourism Conference, Canada-e-Connect Vancouver by the author and lead analyst, Douglas Quinby on November 7-8. An interactive session will provide insight into the findings, and the report will provide the details that sales and marketers will need to stay ahead in the dynamic travel marketplace.

For instance, almost one third of all travel in Canada will be booked online this year (leisure and unmanaged business), but with a highly consolidated air market and fragmented hotel and car rental markets, Canada’s online travelers shop and buy travel very differently than their U.S. counterparts.

Travel meets Web 2.0: a match made in heaven

Just as many people wouldn't think of buying a new toy like a plasma TV or a laptop without first checking online customer reviews and comments, it seems that many people wouldn't dream of booking a vacation to a new location without first reading online reviews from travelers who have been there, viewing rich media such as virtual video tours, and reaching out to other travelers online to ask questions. 

This is not news to the travel industry. A recent survey on the adoption of social media found that the travel industry is well ahead of other sectors.  According to the survey, 73 percent of travel companies plan to invest in social media over the coming year. The pre-event survey for Online Marketing 2007, which was held London's Business Design Centre on June 26-27, also found that 66 percent of travel companies name social media as the biggest growth area for marketing in the coming year.

This should come as no surprise, considering that recent research by Compete, Inc. found that consumer-generated content already influences $10 billion a year in online travel bookings.

In fact, more than 66 percent of travelers surveyed said they consider this content more credible than reviews from professionals or information from the brands themselves, and that it impacts their purchase decisions. 

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Five Holiday E-Mail Marketing Do's and Don'ts

The holiday shopping season is 59 days away from its official U.S. launch on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. This time of year can make or break your e-mail marketing program. Tune it up now to avoid mistakes once the season is in full swing.

My do's and don'ts will help you avoid some common traps.

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Marketers Hooked on Old Media

Six in 10 marketing executives put at least one-half of their media spending into traditional channels, according to a Gundersen Partners survey. About 45% of respondents allocated less than 10% of their budgets to new media.

Respondents said they were going to change their emphasis on traditional media. More than one-half of respondents planned to put 10% to 30% of their media spending into new media, and 28% planned to spend over 30%.

About 80% of respondents planned to hit their new media spending goals in two years, and more than one-third planned to achieve their ideal new media spending level within 12 months.

Asked what was holding them back, 40% cited insufficient knowledge, and one-third said they did not have enough time to evaluate new media channels.

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Holiday Retail Sales Growth To Slow

Holiday sales growth will be the slowest it has been in five years, according to TNS Retail Forward. The company forecasted that fourth-quarter growth in 2007 would slow to 3.3% from 4.6% in 2006.

The company projected that online sales would be the bright spot for retailing, bringing in nearly $42 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, up from $35 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006.

"The credit crunch will lead to a consumer crunch by the holidays," said Frank Badillo, senior economist at TNS Retail Forward, in a statement. "This will extend the weakness in retail sales beyond home improvement stores to other retail channels."

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InterContinental to open its first Crowne Plaza in Hanoi

HG has signed an agreement with Tran Hong Quan Trading to manage the Group’s first Crowne Plaza hotel in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi. Scheduled to open in early 2010, the new hotel will be known as Crowne Plaza West Hanoi and will be  part of a US$65 million mixed-development complex. The complex will also feature an upmarket commercial centre and luxury serviced apartments.

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Surge in online social networking predicted

Some 70% of internet content will be created by individuals as opposed to publishers and brands within three years.

The figure was revealed by Spannerworks business development manager Madeleine Wood as she urged travel companies to get involved in and be talked about on social networking sites.

Wood, who was speaking at the Travel Technology Initiative's autumn conference on the Future of Travel Distribution, said search engines like Google have evolved into reputation management systems because of online social networks.

"Search has gone beyond anyone's imagination and there is greater momentum than ever before. It's about a combined strategy of natural and paid for search, social media and display media," she said.

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Affiliate marketing delivers the most cost-effective customer acquisition

• 95 per cent of brands say affiliate marketing is ‘very cost-effective’ or ‘quite cost effective’
• An average of 18 per cent of the online marketing budget is spent in the channel
• Travel companies using affiliate marketing most effectively

Affiliate marketing is revealed as the most cost effective channel for driving customer acquisition in research out today from E-consultancy. Sponsored by buy.at, the UK’s largest independent affiliate network, the comprehensive research into how UK brands use affiliate marketing found that the majority of UK advertisers (merchants) say that it is either ‘very cost-effective’ or ‘quite cost-effective’ for acquiring customers. 44 per cent of merchants named it as ‘very cost-effective’ for driving customer acquisition compared with 34 per cent for paid search and just seven per cent for display advertising.

Paid search is the second most cost-effective followed by email marketing with these marketing channels viewed as ‘very cost-effective’ or ‘quite cost-effective’ by 90% and 82% of merchants respectively. Affiliate marketing is also a highly effective channel for driving volume, with three quarters of respondents (73%) saying that it drives either ‘high volume’ or ‘medium volume’. However, the best channel for driving volume remains paid search, with more than half of respondents (53%) saying that PPC generates ‘high volume’ for their businesses. Email marketing is the third biggest driver of volume, with 65% saying this channel drives high or medium volume. Mobile Marketing is still very much in the embryonic stage, with only 6 per cent of merchants saying that it drives high or medium volume.

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