There are a growing number of travel media intermediaries online and they are getting stronger and more important than before for all travel providers online; travel agents, tour operators, accommodation, airlines and attractions. PhoCusWright estimate that in 2009 71% of the online travel bookings are from suppliers direct for Australia and New Zealand.
The role of the travel media intermediaries is growing to simplify the suppliers’ product offerings into a narrow choice is in demand. Although the internet has made it easy for suppliers to sell directly, with all suppliers now doing this with different websites, booking engines, presentations and brand values, it does pose problems for the customers of the internet. Users are not able to sift through 100+ websites to find a travel deal each time, they need some form or simplification and hence why the role of the travel media intermediaries growing.
To look at this further I have done a simple review of the travel media intermediaries and categorised them by their Main Function and Revenue Model (definitions below). The list of websites were gathered mainly from Hitwise rankings in the travel category, but include also some other key websites that are being heavily promoted.
Travel Media Intermediaries in Australia and New Zealand Report
Definitions
Main Function
==================================
Booking Engine - Book with the website in a similar way to a travel agent
Guide - Editorially written guides on destinations
Maps - Focus of the website evolves round a map highlighting destinations
Meta Search - Price driven search across multiple travel suppliers and book direct with the supplier
Portal - General travel websites, usually a section of a search engine or directory
Reviews - A website service which predominantly evolves round the reviews of users
Search / Directory - Websites categorised in a directory and the ability to search across
Social - An online social network that evolves round travel
Revenue Models
=================================
Supplier Commission Fees - Transaction charge made to the travel supplier for bookings made
Display Advertising - Banners and Sponsored Links
Listing Fee - Paying to be listed within the website or service
Google Adsense - Google advertising system - sponsored links and display advertising
Yahoo Search Marketing - Yahoo advertising system - sponsored links and display advertising
Government Funded - The website is funded by public money and has no external revenue
Microsoft Advertising - Microsoft advertising system - sponsored links and display advertising
Reviewed WebSites
http://www.wotif.com.au
http://www.travelbug.co.nz
http://www.roamfree.com
http://www.needtoescape.com
http://www.stayz.com.au
http://www.lonelyplanet.com
http://www.wellingtonnz.com
http://www.jasons.co.nz
http://www.holidayguide.co.nz
http://www.about-australia.com
http://www.wises.co.nz
http://www.smaps.co.nz
http://www.zoomin.co.nz
http://www.whereis.com
http://maps.google.com
http://earth.google.com
http://www.street-directory.com.au
http://www.bezurk.com
http://www.kayak.com
http://www.news.com.au/travel
http://travel.ninemsn.com.au
http://travel.yahoo.com
http://nz.travel.yahoo.com
http://www.virtualtourist.com
http://www.tripadvisor.com
http://www.nzlive.com
http://www.aatravel.co.nz
http://maps.yellowpages.co.nz
http://www.totaltravel.com
http://www.accommodationz.co.nz
http://local.live.com
http://www.whereareyounow.com
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
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1 comments:
There is a good accommodation only website that I missed off the list which fits into the travel media intermediaries along side Wotif.com - http://www.ezibed.com. Ezibed is a booking engine and generates revenue from commission fees.
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