The future is price differentiation – do you agree?
During the panel I ran at the China Travel Distribution Summit in Guangzhou, I asked a final question of my panelists, “What’s the one trend they’ll be watching in the next 12 months?”Most cited was China outbound and regionalization of online travel; however the answer was Stan van Roij, ma [...]
Groupon makes comeback with travel, mobile push and a new ‘pull’ model
One of the most frequent questions I’m asked these days – after Groupon set up its Travel vertical group in Asia Pacific earlier this year – is “how long do you think they will last?”In the rapid-fire world of online, it seemed only yesterday when Groupon, the daily deals monster, was ha [...]
Content is King, Context is Queen: Introducing the Next Generation of Review Search
We are swimming in an ocean of online reviews. However, when you look at individual sites, whether it be Travelocity, Orbitz or the like, you have more of a lake of reviews, a much smaller pool. There’s a lack of content.Then you go to the larger sites, like TripAdvisor or Booking.com, where the c [...]
New deal with AXESS puts Travelport ahead of the game in Japan, says Ekert
The new agreement with AXESS, the Japan Airlines-owned GDS, to roll out a new travel agents solution by early October will put Travelport in a leading position “with the best platform for quite a long time” in Japan, said Kurt Ekert, Travelport chief commercial officer.He, however, could not [...]
Angel Gallego is Amadeus’ new president for Asia Pacific
Amadeus Asia Pacific has undergone a leadership change with the appointment of Angel Gallego (pictured left) as the new president, replacing David Brett who has been with the company for 23 years, 13 in the region.Luis Maroto, president & CEO, Amadeus IT Group, said, “David opened the Asia Pa [...]
Skyscanner buys Barcelona-based hotel search company, Fogg
Leading global travel search site, Skyscanner, has acquired Fogg, a Barcelona-based company focused on making internet hotel search simpler and faster, as part of its expansion drive across travel offering into other areas of its users’ travel plans.It has also launched a proprietary car renta [...]
The Wrap: Wego steps up presence in the Philippines
In the news: Wego's enhanced presence in the Phiippines, Amadeus’ new technology, Jetstar Asia’s added capacity, inaugural Accor Es-capers hunt Wego steps up presence in the PhilippinesWego, having consolidated its position as the leading travel metasearch site in Asia Pacific and the Middle Ea [...]
HotelsCombined expands Asian footprint with Tiket.com
Leading hotel comparison engine, HotelsCombined, is expanding its reach in the Asian market through a partnership with travel reservation centre,Tiket.com, one of the biggest players in Indonesia’s online travel industry
This alliance will see HotelsCombined's existing database of over 400,000 [...]
TideSquare sees big wave ahead for online travel in Korea
The online travel market in South Korea is taking off and big opportunities now exist for meta search and OTAs, according to Min Yoon, CEO of TideSquare, which operates a premium travel service for premium card members, Privia Travel, and an online travel mall.Yoon, who started his career [...]
A “positive and active” first half for Amadeus
Amadeus’ adjusted profit for the six months ended June 30, 2013 increased 5.2% to €349.6 million, backed by growth in revenue of 5.7% to €1,595.1 million and an EBITDA increase of 6.5% to €645.9 million.Describing the period reviewed as “positive and active" Amadeus, in announcing its yea [...]
