B2B not wary of online challenges
The travel trade seems more confident growing amid the various being thrown by the online players and increasing instances of growing variance in prices for air, accommodation and at times, the entire packages.
VIVEK SETHI In
this internet driven world, World Wide Web has been opening many new opportunities and challenges for the travel trade in India. As if the competitive fares of online players were not a challenge enough, travel trade today are more often confronted by their clients, complaining about more competitive fares listed by even principles.
As per Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, OTOAI, the dynamics of travel and tourism in India is such that clients trust interface with travel agents than staring at a mere interface with machine. “Airlines and hotels had been showing strong inclination and investing accordingly, in the direct selling platform like the web. We can’t stop them from approaching the customers directly, but it is not sustainable in the long run,” said Sahni.
“For instance, today, we have about 15 million outbound visitors from India, which as per UNWTO projection is likely to cross the 50 million mark by 2020. I don’t think that the airlines or hoteliers can serve them through web platform and more specif- ically without using their B2B partners, who anyway act as their extended arms. Since, travel agents will continue to remain relevant, it’s important for our principals to act responsibly and not chop-off their own hands that are an important part of the overall distribution channel. Hence, at least web parity should be maintained,” he added.
Here encouraging the travel trade to innovate further, Subhash Goyal, President, IATO, “Internet and e-commerce are a reality. Going forward, there is only one surety that the web-based challenges will only increase. Here, it’s the responsibility of the agents to innovate and go an extra mile in terms of opening all possible avenues to increase its top-line, even if it requires them to sell value added services like offering visa facilitation or selling travel insurances to name a few.”
“The web in various instances throws notional challenges, as the attractive prices listed online most of the times act as baits. For instance, I myself tried book- ing an online air ticket, which initially looked more attractively priced compared to the available pricing offered through a B2B channel. But, during the booking process, I realised the final cost was higher than the B2B channel. Hence, I returned to my offline partner to get the air ticket,” he added.
Sahni also recounts his experience of having lost a very loyal clientele, while with the new walk-in clients he witnessed a steep fall due to better fares available online. “We initially lost our important loyal customers, while the walk-in clients simply went with the online option, which caused temporary disturbances in business. But, these clients returned with their bad experiences of having bought online and having lost all the convenience and support that a travel agent provides them on a 24*7 basis, ensuring