There’s no denying that online travel commerce is big business and travel bookings are the single biggest component of all ecommerce businesses.
This is the age of the online travel agency – and Phocuswright reports that the
worldwide revenue for online travel hit $531.1 billion in 2017
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When it comes to buying travel products, consumers have a huge choice in terms of how and where they opt to search and buy, whether that’s through meta searches or OTAs or direct suppliers’ websites.
But with increased choice comes a greater desire for personalization and localization – for tailoring products and services to suit travelers’ specific needs.
To succeed, OTAs need to quickly embrace the trends and innovations that are driving the industry forward.
Investments need to be focused on improving customer choice and the travel experience, for agencies and their travelers.Build engagement with your customers, and they will build their engagement with your brand.
How OTAs should think about the opportunities
OTAs must display far more than just airline logos, flight times and prices.
Together with localization in term of language and better-quality images, they need to offer the right service options for travelers.
That’s the only way to get noticed and stand out in today’s super-competitive marketplace.
OTAs need to provide added value by offering everything from seats, bags, meals and Wi-Fi to lounge access, upgrades and limo pick-ups – so travelers don’t have to go directly to the supplier's website to choose and customize preferred travel options.
With branded fares and ancillaries via Travelport APIs, OTAs can offer customers a shop that allows them to easily compare different airlines’ offerings – not just looking at prices, but also enabling real merchandising, displaying what is included in the fare and what is available for an additional fee.
Travelport currently has more than 250 airlines live with branded fares content, which is five times as much as that offered by our competitors.
The Travelport travel commerce platform empowers OTAs to sell 19 low-cost carriers alongside scheduled airlines, plus multi-modal non-air transport options such as rail.
The result?
Traffic is attracted to the Travelport-powered OTA’s website – and the offers stand out. Lookers are now bookers. Differentiation is UP!
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Click here to continue reading the full article
, which dives into the world of NDC-enabled content, “beyond air” content, and the many ways Travelport can help your OTA or travel company deliver value by driving your differentiation, conversion, total revenue and business growth UP!