Guestwriter

E-ticketing redefines travelling experience

Ankur Bhatia

The fact that India has been ranked in top position in the long-term travel growth category by World Travel and Trade Council in its global report for 2008 is a clear indicator of the exciting times that await the Indian travel industry.

While many developed economies are witnessing a decrease in their travel sector growth due to deterioration in economic conditions coupled with unprecedented crude oil prices, the Indian travel juggernaut shows no signs of relenting. Indians are taking to the skies like never before.

At the heart of this boom are Online Travel Agencies (OLTAs) that have brought convenience and choice into the hands of the common man. With electronic ticketing becoming the order of the day, passengers are getting accustomed to the joy and ease of paperless travel and having their tickets delivered via e-mail as opposed to chasing the travel agent as was the case in the traditional offline scenario.

The integration of technology in the ticketing experience is also particularly suited for the business traveller who wants to reduce the time involved in the ticketing process as well as avoid delays associated with loss of tickets, etc. And it works equally well for the airlines particularly low cost carriers, which gain direct access to their customers, thereby reducing dependence on travel agents.

According to global market analyst Euromonitor International, India will be Asia's fastest growing market for online travel retail by 2010, ahead of Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia and China. Internet-based travel retail transactions are projected to increase by an incredible 271 per cent between 2005 and 2010. Online travel retail sales in India are expected to generate in excess of $2 billion in 2008 alone. Small wonder then, that the domain is witnessing hectic activity with a host of investors looking to tap the sector's potential. A Mumbai-based online travel agency recently received $18.5 million in venture funding, making it the largest round of venture funding in 2008, according to a venture capital report. Needless to say, there is potential for more such deals.

And for those who think the segment is packed to capacity, the action has actually just begun. With international players setting up shop in India, the scene is just getting more exciting. They bring a strong technology backend and ready access to a huge inventory of international hotels.

Another new trend in this space is that of meta search engines, which search all the online travel sites (including the airlines sites) and displays the best deals for the user. They can aggregate special deals from airline websites that aren't available to OLTAs and can also aggregate special deals from OLTAs themselves, thus giving consumers a wider choice. Moreover, another format is that of a distressed inventory travel site, which allows users to bid for a flight ticket based on a reverse auction model.

As the action moves from the air tickets to hotels and from online travel agents to meta search engines the consumer is enjoying the choice and the deals that come with it. Having said it, there are certain issues that the existing players need to address in order to build on the current momentum. Travel, particularly international travel, is an emotional decision and having a human contact makes an important difference to many travellers. Thus, there is a need for OLTAs to build customer loyalty by increasing their physical presence across geographies and offering increasingly sophisticated and secure travel products and solutions. This implies that travel companies have to increasingly leverage technology to distribute their products using customised and personalised communication that users expect today on any mobile device and in whatever mode they choose.

Furthermore, technology has to be woven in to drive every aspect of the travel industry - from online marketing to e-business, foreign currency transactions to fraud prevention, virtual tours to interactive maps. In order to do this, they need to better leverage offerings of the technology providers such as Amadeus to deploy relevant travel management solutions, which allow them to offer more options to customers. Amadeus delivers the latest technology solutions that empower the majority of travel service providers, travel agents and corporations. Online travel options hold tremendous promise for redefining the traditional travel experience and empowering travellers to make more informed decisions and plan their travel better.

In an era where time is perhaps the most precious commodity, the e-traveller is looking for a simplified yet comprehensive set of options that save both time and money. For India in particular, this segment can expect exponential growth as confidence in the internet usage and purchase grows and travellers increasingly leverage technology in their daily lives.

(The author is the executive director of the Bird Group)