Being there is ALL the fun
I just read an interesting post on Tim Hughe’s blog about some comments from Rob Cuthbert at Viator about how hard it is for consumers to travel . In the last sentence, Tim writes something that I think is vitally important to the travel purchase experience and that is “the need to keep the purchase and consumption process simple for consumers.” The travel industry, especially the airfare and hotel sides of the industry are rampant with overly complicated pricing models, rates, discounts, commissions, and such. In the end, I think that everyone loses out because the traveler doesn’t get a true understanding of the value they are receiving, the intermediaries are fighting over percentage points in commission, and the suppliers are constantly finding ways to cut out the middle-man. The thrust of the article is that travel now competes with other forms of consumer spending because it has become harder for everyday travelers to travel. If this is true, I think that what we will see is more focus on local, regional, and national tourism. A greater emphasis on tourism at home, and more small tour operators providing experiences in their own backyards. Tour operators will need to focus on keeping their pricing simple, focusing on providing a unique and interesting experience, and take online bookings.
The bottom line for experiential tour operators is that the old saying of “getting there is half the fun” is no longer true. The experience a traveler has once they are at a destination is key and promoting experiences during the research phase of the travel booking process will only have a greater impact on offsetting the drudgery and mundane of long airport lineups.
