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Asia Pacific
Online confidence
With the ever increasing use of the internet to research travel it is interesting to see the impact of the credit crunch on live bookings online. Professort Michael Porter, an eminent academic specialising in business competitiveness, claimed the internet would make business compete on price only with the availability of precise information for the consumer. What would the first real recession since trading began in earnest do to the travel industry online? The evidence points to reassurance being key to encourage purchase and credit card payments are one way small hotels and private property owners can use to encourage purchase. With ABTA accreditation a dream small operators can make use of section 75 of the consumer credit act to provide support to the wary traveller. This is one way small providers can offer additional service to their clients enabling payment via cards online. If ever a time to invest in technology was here this is it. My advice would be if you don’t have a way to automate payment online, find one and do it fast. Encouragement to pay online has never been more important than now with instant availability and short notice bookings a necessity as look to book times plummet.
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