Does the package holiday have a future online?

WTM Special: The potential to sell package holidays online was a hot topic at the the EyeforTravel event at WTM.

During the EyeforTravel event, Strategies and Partnerships for the Future of Travel Distribution representatives from the travel industry exchanged views. The case for argued that internet sales were up, and consumers were growing more confident with booking online. The case against said that agents still had the competitive advantage.

Lastminute.com chief executive and co-founder, Brent Hoberman (pictured) said package holiday sales represented the largest segment of online sales at lastminute. He said: “If you put a good product online, they will buy, and they are doing so in droves”.

TUI UK head of new media, Graham Donoghue said he was also positive about the future of package holidays sold online. He told TravelMole: “It is a great product to sell over the internet, but only if you make it easy. Our websites Portland Direct and Lunn Poly are very successful”.

TUI’s 15 websites receive one million users a month. Mr Donoghue said that new media played a big part in distribution, and websites were a valuable research tool, as well as booking tool. Consequently, Lunn Poly had adopted a multichannel strategy, of “click, call, come in”.

First Choice Holidays sales director, Martin Froggart played down the role of the internet. He said: “It is a small, but important part of our distribution that continues to grow. However, traditional channels remain our focus.

“Retail agents are alive and well and independent agents are in a commanding position”.

Mr Froggart said travel agents would remain a key point of distribution of package holidays because people enjoyed booking with them. He said: “People want the interaction. They feel that visiting the travel agent is the start of their holiday”.

This is why First Choice is investing in larger stores, or hypermarkets, of which it has 33. Mr Froggart said the company was trying to make visiting an agent “an experience in itself, and more enjoyable than shopping online”.

Sapient vice president of consumer and travel division, Bill Kanarick said high street agents would continue to have a competitive advantage over online sales because people feel they can trust a person.

Opodo chief financial officer, Simon Tucker said the website, which currently sells flights, accommodation, car hire and travel insurance, said he was unsure whether package holidays were suited to online sales because they were a complex product.

Expedia Europe and Asia Pacific managing director, Simon Breakwell said he thought in the long term future, that all travel would be bought online.

This was disputed by Travelocity Europe senior vice president Jeff Lavender (pictured), who said that 97 percent of people still did not buy travel online. “I think the break will come when you can interact with a person, or even just a face online when you are buying a package holiday.”

Thomas Cook director of sales new channels, Richard Hadfield said his company had curtailed investment in technology. He said Thomas Cook was concentrating on “intelligent investment”, particularly interactive television. Mr Donoghue from TUI UK said they would also favour a multichannel strategy, and maintain investments in WAP and interactive television.