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Amazon Travel will be back, expert tells ABTA delegates
Watch out, Amazon will be returning to travel, delegates were told by a technology expert at this year’s ABTA Travel Convention.
Speaking on the first morning of the conference in Seville, PhoCusWright founder Philip Wolf predicted: "Amazon Travel is coming."
Amazon dipped its toe in the travel market back in 2015 with Amazon Destinations but pulled out just months later.
"They would have learned a lot from that," said Wolf. "They have so many customers and if they can get into pharmaceuticals and groceries, they will get into travel."
But he assured delegates this could be a good thing for travel business.’¨
"We are all small players," he said. "Imagine the opportunities for travel companies to be able to set up shop on Amazon."
He advised travel businesses not to focus too much on what their competitors are doing but to concentrate on delivering what their customers need.
"Most companies have great difficulty innovating," he said. "Often when ideas are shared the first question is ‘Why should we do that when we don’t have any skills in that area’."
But he said marketplaces change and what used to be a valued skill might not be valued by your customers any longer.
While tour operators need to be aware of new entrants coming in to the market, Wolf believes they should be making use of their ‘incredible assets’, including their property and their better understanding of how the market operates.
"What they should be doing, however, is leveraging technology to become more dynamic in their pricing and become more flexible," he added.
He also told delegates not to dismiss Voice, which is set to make a big impact.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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