Travel 2.0 solutions a wake-up call, not killer blow to agents

SINGAPORE – Dire predictions of the eclipse of the traditional travel agent caused by the rise of web-based travel solutions known as Travel 2.0 have so far been unfounded says Abacus International.



Travel 2.0 has delivered the mainstream travel industry a wake-up call rather than the killer blow that some industry commentators predicted says Abacus president and CEO Don Birch.



There are currently around 62,000 physical travel agencies in Asia, up from around 52,000 in 2003 according to Euromonitor. Offline travel sales make up a healthy 89 percent (or US$218 billion) of the total Asia Pacific travel market, compared to the 11 percent (US$26 billion) gained in online sales according to 2007 projections from EyeforTravel Research.



This is no reason for the region’s traditional travel agents to be complacent however. The offline share of the travel market has been growing at just 2.3 percent CAGR from 2002-2007, compared to the bounding 49 percent CAGR recorded by online sales over the same period (EyeForTravel).



Abacus, which manages more than 54 million airline bookings per year for both traditional agents and newer Travel 2.0 channels, is seeing clear evidence that Travel 2.0 and traditional channels can co-exist.



Fortuitously for those traditional agents who have been slow to adapt, ongoing compound for to six percent growth of passenger numbers in Asia Pacific is growing the ‘travel pie’ for all players in the travel distribution market.



But with online travel bookings in Asia Pacific projected to grow from US$15.9 billion in 2005 to US$55 billion by 2010 (EyeForTravel, The Asia Pacific Online Travel Report 2007), traditional travel agencies who ignore the changes heralded by Travel 2.0 are playing with fire.