Canadian online travel purchases will soar to more than $11 billion by 2009 from $8 billion this year but many baby boomers have returned to old-fashioned service offered by travel agents in bricks-and-mortar buildings.
That was the message at the Canadian Tourism Commission’s Canada e-Connect e-tourism strategy conference in Vancouver where delegates heard of a growing divide in the online travel market, reports the Vancouver Sun.
“Those people want to talk to somebody with experience who can help them through the process,” said Sean Sutherland, Flight Centre vice-president. He added:
“At the end of the day, there are a lot of people forking out $10,000 or more on trips they’ve planned for years and they’re not just going to spend it online. They want to talk to somebody and they’re willing to pay for the service.”
Expedia Canada managing director Sean Shannon dismissed concerns that online travel may be nearing a saturation point but said the market has become fragmented with more players in the sector than ever before.
“Expedia’s recent financial results showed we were up 21% in the third quarter, year over year, and those numbers are real,” he said. “We’re still building customers and we’re still building transactions.”
Search engine optimization consultant Ian McAnerin said he worries about the credibility of some online products, including search engines that don’t necessarily put the best results near the top and sites that post false reviews of certain travel products.
Report by David Wilkening
