This news item from Hotelmarketing.com caught my eye and I couldn’t help but comment below: Operators are bamboozled by search engine optimisation tactics, and see the issue as the biggest hurdle to competing effectively online. This is according to a survey released this week by the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA). When asked what the […]

IAC Losses May Bode Ill for Travel Sites 17 Feb 2005 E-commerce giant IAC blamed its $49 million quarterly loss on performance of its travel sites, which include Hotels.com and Expedia. Dismissing the results as temporary setbacks, IAC intends to go ahead with plans to split up its diverse e-commerce holdings into two different companies, […]

Here’s a story about a subject that I’ve given some thought to for quite a while. Any player in the supply chain can become the first point of contact for an online traveler to start the trip planning or purchasing process; airline, hotel, car rental company or destination. Who will leverage that position and offer […]

This article Click to fly – Express Computer offers one of the better definitions of “dynamic packaging”, the buzzword that in ’04 made it even into the general media such as the Wall Street Journal. It certainly is the next big thing in online travel, especially when defined properly as in this article. Two key […]

This headline and article caught my attention. Agencies survive online travel sites: January 10, 2005 When a large meteorite hit the Earth long eons ago, scientists say the fate of the dinosaurs was sealed. And when the Internet hit the travel industry much more recently, some wondered what fate awaited traditional travel agencies as heavy […]

Similar comments as the one below have been made recently on future travel trends, especially for the high end segment of the market. How will this be reflected in online travel. It seems to me that a lot of products offered on the major websites are geared to the middle of the road market and […]

Is this the Year when major new developments are going to occur in the online travel space? The previous posts included a basic thought paper on how I view the position of destination marketing organizations in the online travel space and how they best address the challenges of new hybrid consumer planning & purchasing behavior. […]

Web-based travel companies must evolve to continue offering value Published: August 18 2004 05:00 | Last updated: August 18 2004 05:00 From Mr Joseph E. Buhler. Sir, With reference to Comment & Analysis (August 16): online travel companies have had the staying power, and have not become victims of the post-bubble bust, because travel is […]

The article below appeared in The Financial Times. My letter to the editor was published a few days later and you can read it in the next post. By Matthew Garrahan Published: August 16 2004 05:00 | Last updated: August 16 2004 05:00 From online pet shops to trendy fashion “e-tailers”, the end of the […]

Here’s an article on what’s required for successful destination marketing with a majority of potential visitors researching and planning their vacation on travel sites, especially destination sites. Download 21stCenturyDist.doc