influencing travel decisions: stephen outerbridge
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St. John’s | October 13, 2011
INTERNATIONAL EXPLORATION CRUISE FORUM
Stephen Outerbridge
Stephen Outerbridge, Carlson Wagonlit Harvey’s Travel - Copyright © 2011 CWT
Copyright © 2007 CWT 2
Technology and Leisure Travel
Primarily means the internet
Virtually every entity has a website, Facebook page, etc.
Every step of the decision making and buying process profoundly impacted
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Impact of the Internet
Universal participation
Lots of content
Unfiltered information
Price transparency
Fragmentation
Too much content
Credibility Concerns
Importance of Value Diminished
THE GOOD THE BAD
&
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Most Popular Websites
Most popular websites in travel ranked by visits
Google Maps: 14.64% (segmented visits)
MapQuest: 7.35%
Southwest Airlines: 2.65%
Expedia: 2.61%
Bing Maps: 1.83%
Yahoo! Maps: 1.83%
Priceline.com: 1.72%
Yahoo! Travel: 1.65%
TripAdvisor: 1.62%
Orbitz: 1.65%
Source: Experian Hitwise North America Newsletter – November 2010
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Role of the Travel Agent
Disintermediation (or our demise) has not occurred
Has prompted a profound sea change in our business
Suppliers have seen the dangers (and costs) of online booking strategy
Customers have seen pitfalls and frustration in dealing direct
Time is money and professional advice has value. Plus you are not alone when things go badly.
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Traveller Confidence
Percentage of travellers indicating they were “very/ extremely” confident in various media sources for destination and travel supplier decisions.
Family / Friend Recommendations 81%
Travel guidebooks 57%
Online travel agents 54%
Online advisory sites 53%
Company / destination sites 46%
Travel agents 46%
Media coverage 43%
Brochures 39%
Blogs 33%
Travel advertising 27%
Facebook / Twitter 19%
You Tube 14%
Source: tnooz – talking travel tech, November 2010
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Role of Technology
Seen as a rich source of content for research and information gathering
Excellent conduit for family/ friend recommendations
Twitter/Facebook not seen as a credible commercial forum (yet!)
Purchases of complex vacations (ie. many cruises) difficult using technology alone
After sale customer care an important frontier
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Questions
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