Digital Divide and Travel Buying
February 29, 2008
When one attends ITB one also realises that the outbound and inbound travel business structure is still pretty much the same. Except the large travel companies, who can invest in IT, E-commerce and content management platforms, the smaller, regional companies have yet to leverage the full digital arsenal. The investments might be too much. I dont think the Travel 2.0 and web 2.0 paradigm has also been leveraged by the small and medium size travel enterprises that dot the landscape in Europe and Asia. Beyond e-mail and maybe a reservation platform for hotels, one has yet to see a platform for the SME’s. Exciting time to be a part of this travel mega mart. The scale is quite mind boggling.
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I agree. It’s been my impression that only large players are looking into or taking advantage of Web 2.0 opportunities. The hundreds of thousands of tourism small businesses are still working with old paradigms depending on their DMO’s to market their destination online hoping that potential travelers come across their particular offerings. I am working on a plan to bring small businesses onboard my niche social network, but I anticipate a long process of education before any of them realize the potential upside of participating.
Regards,
Am glad I will have an opportunity to touch base with at least one attendant interested in the small entrepreneur.