The conversations about where the travel industry is headed often converge at Google. Online travel players are always anticipating next moves of the search giant. At the recently concluded Phocuswright India 2017, Rob Torres, Managing Director, Travel at Google engaged in a discussion with Lorraine Sileo, Senior Vice President, Research at Phocuswright about Google’s recent steps in travel and how they will shape up in future.

(L to R) Lorraine Sileo and Rob Torres (Image: Phocuswright)

Over the past year, Trips has been the biggest travel product to come out from the search giant. Rob expressed his happiness on how widely the product has been adopted for the functionality it offers. However, it doesn’t stop here. As many of us have been guessing, Google is looking to add the booking feature for activities available in the app. According to him, it is a natural extension as people love the recommendations they get on the app but have to go elsewhere to book the activities. The partners have also expressed their interest in the same so that they can be a part of it and connect with new customers.

(Also read: Google Trips showcases the true potential of user data)

Along with Trips, Google is also betting big on voice. While Google Home is yet to find its way into many homes, things already look quite positive. Voice activated search will change how we ask questions and it would affect travel as well.

Rob shared that the adoption of voice search is on a constant rise and the younger users are increasingly relying on it as a preferable medium. As machine learning continues to work its magic in the background, the likes of Google Home and Amazon Echo will find more roles to play in the travel industry. From cars to phones, the improved connectivity will allow brands to better understand their customers and thus offer a more personalised experience. However, he also pointed out that there is a long way to go before we reach there. Mobile will be a major driver but before that, a lot of brands, especially in travel, have to catch up on the capabilities of smartphones to offer the users a great experience.

Developments like Hotel Ads and Flights have always been debatable topic in the industry. Responding to queries about the same, Rob claimed that the Hotel Ads product isn’t really cannibalising on their partners and is only an extension of what they excel at, search.

“We are still a big search engine helping people find what they want, while also helping our partners. The Hotel Ads product actually does a much better job of passing qualified leads to our partners and these leads convert better because of more information available to the users upfront,” he said.

According to him, ‘Flights’ also serves as a similar bridge between the users and their partners. The original search result of 10 blue links wasn’t getting the job done anymore and they had to evolve from there to make sure they add value to the chain. For the near future, Flights, Hotel Ads and Trips are the major Google product to keep an eye on.

What are your comments on this? Do share with us. Click here for more stories from Phocuswright India 2017.

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Phocuswright India 2017 kicked off yesterday with the highly acclaimed Battleground that offers innovators an opportunity to showcase their product in front of the industry decision makers while navigating the Dragons’ Den. Just like any other Phocuswright event, there were some really interesting products and ideas to see. The startups were given six minutes each to present and then they entered The Dragons’ Den to face some of the industry experts. Six innovators took the stage and Mileslife won the Battleground with their product that allows travellers to earn frequent flier miles on their everyday purchases along with travel bookings.

PKFARE was announced to be the runner up in the race for the award. MilesLife received the maximum votes from the audience to receive the People’s Choice award as well.

(L-R) Jason Song, Founder, PKFARE; Simon Lehmann, President, Phocuswright and Troy Liu, Founder, Mileslife

Mileslife is a lifestyle+travel mile-earning platform for locals and travellers. Users can earn airline miles and points directly via daily spending and travel products at select merchants. Mileslife has already built a large network by partnering with 10 frequent flyer programs worldwide and over 1,500 merchants in China and overseas. Airlines, retailers and brands can use the app to engage the middle class with high spending power and acquire insights by leveraging big data analytics.

PKFARE is a global travel B2B marketplace targeting, aggregating and providing air tickets, hotels and destination product content. By building linkage with multiple GDSs, hotel chains, air ticket consolidators and destination management companies, PKFARE provides a real-time inventory data and best-buy rates as well as 24/7 customer service to its clients worldwide. PKFARE also established direct linkage with leading carriers on NDC distribution worldwide.

You can find more details about all the innovators here.

We will be bringing you some really interesting discussions and stories from Phocuswright India 2017 over the next few days. Do follow us on Facebook to stay updated.

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Asia Pacific (APAC) is a growth engine of the global travel industry, with travel gross bookings projected to hit US$392 billion in 2017. Southeast Asia accounts for just 11% of that, but the region’s growing economies and burgeoning middle class populations make it a key area of focus for forward-thinking online travel agencies (OTAs), investors, startups and suppliers.

Much of the appeal is Southeast Asia’s upside. Its online travel population of 39 million represents just 11% of the region’s adult population. As that figure rises, more travel providers are prioritizing this growing population of young, tech-savvy consumers, eager to travel.

Phocuswright’s The Southeast Asian Traveller offers a detailed look at the behaviours, attitudes and preferences of travellers in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Each country has distinctive market realties and consumer habits, as revealed by detailed examination of online travel booking habits.

They’re Young, Especially in Indonesia and Thailand

While online travellers tend to skew younger than the total travel population globally, Southeast Asian travellers are significantly younger than in most other travel markets.

Overall, nearly seven in 10 Southeast Asian online travellers are millennials (18-34). In Indonesia and Thailand, the traveller population is even younger: 45% of online travellers in Indonesia and 41% in Thailand are age 18-24. In all four markets, the young traveller population is a defining characteristic that has important implications for online travel. These digital natives came of age in an interconnected world, and many rely heavily on the Internet and mobile devices.

Mobile travel adoption is high, led by Indonesia and Thailand

With high smartphone ownership incidence across Southeast Asia, mobile shopping in general is popular among consumers in the region. The same is true for travel, even though desktop/laptop computers remain the most popular device type for travel shopping and booking across markets.

Mobile travel booking habits reveal a contrast in Southeast Asia – between the more established economies and online travel markets of Singapore and Malaysia, compared to the more recently emerging markets of Indonesia and Thailand.

More Indonesian travellers report booking travel via smartphone in the past 12 months than report booking via laptop or desktop. And although Thai travellers are more likely to use desktop platforms, more than half have used mobile for travel purchases in the past year. Travelers from the more mature markets of Singapore and Malaysia are testing the mobile waters. But they are holding onto desktop bookings in a way their neighbours – who skew younger and have less experience with online travel – are not.

They Prefer General Search for Destination Selection

When Southeast Asia travellers research travel destinations, general search engines are the most popular type of websites/apps used. Roughly seven in 10 travellers in Indonesia and Malaysia used a general search engine to research the destination for their last trip; a smaller share of Thais and Singaporeans use general search, but it is still their top source of information.

Online travel agencies (OTAs) also play a major role at the top of the funnel in Southeast Asia. Overall, travellers are supplementing their general search engine sessions with visits to a variety of information sources – including sites and apps for social networking, traveller reviews, travel providers and messaging.

Get deeper insights on the Asia Pacific market and network with the change makers in the industry at the upcoming Phocuswright India (February 28 – March 2, 2017, in Gurgaon, NCR, India). The three day event features several sessions with APAC’s leading OTAs including a Joint Interview of MakeMyTrip and ibibo Group, Keynote by Yatra.com and Joint Interview of Fliggy (Alitrip) and Paytm among others.

View the full program here.

The registrations are open for just the last few days. Register now to network and learn from Asia Pacific’s most innovative thinkers and leaders in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry.

The post Three things you need to know about Southeast Asian travellers appeared first on TravHQ.

While rising Internet and smartphone access fuelled growth in Asia Pacific (APAC) in 2016, varied infrastructure development, digital payments adoption and regulations make for an uneven e-commerce landscape across the region. Phocuswright’s Asia Pacific Online Travel Overview Ninth Edition: Online Travel Agencies analyses the competitive dynamics throughout APAC, with insight into online travel agency (OTA) gross bookings and growth rates. The report takes a deep dive into the four major OTA trends in APAC.

APAC is the world’s third-largest OTA region: Gross bookings hit US$44.5 billion in 2015, up 15% over 2014 and are forecasted to reach $96.5 billion by 2020.

1- APAC Is the Fastest-Growing Major OTA Region Worldwide

Internet and smartphone penetration continue to rise, supporting travel bookings’ migration from offline to online channels in the region. With relatively underpenetrated online travel markets such as China, India and Southeast Asia fueling OTA growth, APAC OTA gross bookings grew 21% in 2016.

The supplier market structure also adds to OTA growth in the region. Broadly, the APAC air market is crowded and the hotel segment is highly fragmented, offering OTAs an advantage in aggregating and distributing varied content in one place.

2- Mobile Is the Norm

With ever-increasing smartphone penetration, APAC OTAs are allocating more resources toward mobile product development and marketing. Abetted by sales via apps, mobile share of OTA gross bookings in China hit 45% in 2015 – the highest in the world.

As technology companies, OTAs have a strong lead over suppliers across markets when it comes to mobile development and products. While suppliers largely focus on and distribute a single product/segment, most OTAs distribute an array of products within a single mobile platform, thus appealing more to consumers.

OTAs accounted for the majority of mobile gross bookings share in the region in 2016: India (86%), Japan (54%), China (52%).

Combined OTA mobile gross bookings for China, India and Japan were $14.7 billion in 2015, up 52% year-over-year. Continued discounting and price wars on mobile, however, dragged down transaction values (and put pressure on revenues) particularly in China and India, restraining OTA mobile gross bookings from growing at a faster rate.

3- Online Travel Funding Swells, Competition Intensifies

Aggregate publicly disclosed funding to APAC digital travel startups exceeded $14 billion from 2005 through 1Q16, accounting for 43% of global funding. New entrants are challenging the established order and deploying capital toward price wars to win customer loyalty.

Funding to the region’s online travel companies has accelerated dramatically in the last decade; Chinese startups attracted 75% of the total regional funding.

Incumbent OTAs face competition – and a threat of displacement – from emerging intermediaries, which are tapping into new categories, attracting investor dollars and gaining consumer traction.

4- Consolidation Hits APAC Shores

As the region’s online travel industry matures and growth softens, major e-commerce players and OTAs have made notable investments and acquisitions to strengthen their positions in several markets.

As consolidation looms in the region, it’s eat or be eaten for APAC OTAs.

Want more information on OTA trends in the region? Get it straight from the leaders of APAC’s biggest OTAs at Phocuswright India (February 28 – March 2, 2017, in Gurgaon, NCR, India). This year’s program features several sessions with APAC’s leading OTAs including a Joint Interview of MakeMyTrip and ibibo Group, Keynote by Yatra.com and Joint Interview of Fliggy (Alitrip) and Paytm among others.

View the full program here.

Phocuswright India provides an unmatched opportunity to meet, learn from and collaborate with Asia Pacific’s top decision makers. It brings together a good mix of speakers and attendees carrying wide experiences boosting the value for attendees. You can find details about all speakers here.

Register now to network and learn from Asia Pacific’s most innovative thinkers and leaders in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry.

The post Here are the top four Asia Pacific OTA trends to help you plan ahead appeared first on TravHQ.

Asia Pacific (APAC) continued to fuel the global economy last year, which was otherwise stifled by geopolitical uncertainties, the Zika virus endemic, multiple terrorist strikes in Europe and the related refugee crisis in the Middle East. APAC’s middle class population is at the core of the booming regional economy. Their rising discretionary income makes them a highly attractive demographic for lifestyle and service-oriented companies, including travel suppliers.

Phocuswright’s Asia Pacific Online Travel Overview Ninth Edition analyses the competitive dynamics throughout APAC, providing travel companies and marketers with a comprehensive view of the region’s travel market performance from 2014 – 2020.

Online outpacing total market growth

Varied market and segment online maturity will allow the APAC online market to grow at a faster pace than the total market through 2020.

With China accounting for 39% (and increasing) share of the APAC travel market, its online dynamics – and progress – will significantly influence regional online travel growth.

Most online travel markets within APAC will grow in double digits through 2020, with the exception of Japan and Australia – New Zealand (ANZ). Once the online frontrunners in the region, these countries are experiencing slowing growth due to high online penetration. Japan’s share of the APAC online travel market will shrink eight points to 18% by 2020. ANZ’s share will also reduce, from 10% to 6%, during the same period.

Supplier websites lead online travel distribution

Three out of five online dollars were transacted on supplier websites in 2015. Skewed by direct online distribution mechanisms already in place for low-cost carriers (LCCs) and railways, supplier websites have an upper hand in online distribution.

APAC supplier website gross bookings will climb 89% from US$60.7 billion in 2015 to $114.8 billion by 2020. Chinese airlines will add to supplier websites’ momentum. Per the new government policy, state-owned airlines have to sell at least half of their tickets through online direct channels by 2018.

However, by focusing on underserved segments, OTAs will grow faster than supplier websites and the online travel market. Supplier websites will steadily lost share through 2020.

APAC has the world’s highest mobile travel penetration

With a rising number of APAC travelers having access to the Internet and digital banking via their smartphones, mobile will be the fastest-growing online platform in the region. Combined mobile gross bookings of China, India and Japan will reach $105.9 billion by 2020, up 325% over 2015.

OTAs win at mobile

In APAC, online travel agencies are at the forefront of mobile innovation, development, marketing and distribution relative to the suppliers. In India, OTAs accounted for 88% of the mobile travel market in 2015, while their counterparts in China delivered 60% of the market’s mobile gross bookings in the same year. OTAs will remain the major force behind mobile bookings in APAC.

You can purchase the full report here for the trends, individual market dynamics, projections through 2020 and key findings from various segments and countries.

Want more information on APAC trends? Get it straight from the leaders of APAC’s travel companies at Phocuswright India (February 28 – March 2, 2017, in Gurugram, NCR, India).

Phocuswright India provides an unmatched opportunity to meet, learn from and collaborate with Asia Pacific’s top decision makers. Explore the trends, technology and turmoil affecting Asia Pacific travel market. See industry innovators during Battleground. Hear from the most influential travel leaders during Center Stage. Find practical advice you can put to work in your own business during workshops.

This year’s program features several sessions with APAC’s largest OTAs:

• Joint Interview: MakeMyTrip and ibibo Group. Two of india’s largest online travel companies have merged. Hear from their CEOs, Ashish Kashyap and Rajesh Magow, on where they go from here and what it means for the rest of the market.
• Keynote: Yatra.com. Hear from Yatra’s co-founder and CEO, Dhruv Shringi, on distribution, competition, discounting and running an OTA in the public eye.
• Joint Interview: Alitrip and Paytm. Step by step, Alibaba has emerged as a prominent force – and investor – in the Chinese digital travel distribution space. Hear about Alibaba’s travel ambitions through a combined interview with the heads of its travel businesses in China and India, Tony Duan and Abhishek Rajan.

View the full program here.

This year’s speakers include:

• Oliver Hua, Managing Director, APAC, Booking.com
• Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder and CEO, Yatra Online Pvt. Ltd.
• Amanpreet Bajaj, Country Manager, India, Airbnb
• Albert Pozo, President, Amadeus Asia Pacific, Amadeus IT Group S.A.
• Geeta Jain, CEO, India, Carlson Wagonlit Travel
• View all speakers

Register now to network and learn from Asia Pacific’s most innovative thinkers and leaders in the hospitality, travel and tourism industry.

The post Here are the top trends you need to know about the Asia Pacific travel market appeared first on TravHQ.

The conversations about the Asia-Pacific travel market often converge around China or India. The past 15 years have moved the pointer from markets like Australia and Japan to these countries. Larger population and improved Internet connectivity, primarily via mobile helped this transition. However, on the sidelines, the Southeast Asian market has also evolved into a lucrative proposition for online travel businesses and new products in travel. Companies like AirAsia, Grab and Traveloka have headlined the growth in this region. Young internet connected travellers open to new technologies have created room for e-commerce companies. A recent report by Phocuswright looks closely at this region, primarily the key markets – Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, to understand the trends driving the market and behaviour of travellers. Here are some quick highlights from the report that indicate how the Southeast Asia region is a market ripe for innovators in travel:

USD 55.7 billion opportunity

By the year 2020, travel gross bookings in Southeast Asia- comprising of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand will near USD 55.7 billion. During this period, the region is expected to account for 11% of the total Asia Pacific travel market. A growing GDP across the region (over 5%) is also seen as a contributory factory towards the growth of not only online travel but entire e-commerce industry.

Savvy young audience

Seven out of 10 travellers from the region are millennials aged between 18-34 years and are comfortable searching and buying online, including mobile. The players in online travel space have an opportunity to tap into this behaviour. Indonesia and Thailand have the youngest travellers in Southeast Asia and these travellers are well connected via their mobile devices. Taking a mobile first approach and embracing not only popular social platforms like Facebook and Instagram but also regionally popular channels like Path or Line will help brands connect with these travellers.

Window to inspire

Last year, a majority of travellers from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia travelled to domestic destinations. However, thanks to the visa-free travel across ASEAN countries, efforts by travel companies to inspire travellers and competitive fares by LCCs, the outbound travel has also registered growth. Up to one in two Indonesian and Malaysian travellers, and more than three in four Singaporeans travelled overseas to other SEA countries last year.

Investors’ attention

During 2014, travel startups across Asia Pacific collectively raised over USD 2.5 billion in funding and the number more than quadrupled in 2015. Travel startup funding in 2016 neared USD 9 billion, significantly higher than North America which indicates the increased interest of investors across the entire region and SEA won’t go amiss.

During the upcoming Phocuswright India 2017, Chetan Kapoor – Research Analyst, Asia Pacific, Phocuswright will share deeper insights from the research to help brands looking to tap into the region. Executives from brands who have pioneered the market will take the stage to share their expertise. Phocuswright India will also see participation from the most influential leaders from around the world offering an opportunity for the attendees to connect with the decision makers and explore synergies to grow together.

The event is scheduled for February 28-March 2, 2017. Registration options and full schedule can be found here.

The post Why Southeast Asian travel market is an opportunity not to be missed appeared first on TravHQ.

The Asian travellers are demanding in nature. While the massive scale of the market and fast growing internet population provide opportunities for travel brands to set foot and grow, the buyers don’t like to settle for anything less than the best. The trends observed in the market appear to be similar to other geographies but in reality, APAC is a diverse region with multiple niche markets and unique traits.

Phocuswright has been at the centre of the online travel industry for over two decades with research and events. Phocuswright India, their first ever conference centred around the Asia Pacific travel market, was launched last year. It saw participation from the leaders of top travel companies and for 2017, they are bringing back the event carrying the theme “The Asian Advantage”. It will pack together compelling content, top-tier attendees and an electrified atmosphere.

Here is why we think Phocuswright India 2017 is a conference one can’t afford to miss:

Industry leaders

Phocuswright India is attended by the most influential leaders from around the world. At the 2016 event, a third of the attendees were C-level executives while 23 percent were at Senior Director/Director level. This offers a great opportunity for the attendees to connect with the decision makers in leading brands and explore synergies to grow together.

Diverse experiences

The event brings together a good mix of local and international speakers and attendees. The 2016 event saw attendees from 19 countries including major travel markets outside Asia as well. This brings wide expertise and knowledge to the event boosting the value for attendees.

Learning from changemakers

A lot is speculated about the major develops in the travel industry. Whether it is about the travel products by Google, international investments by Chinese brands or the consolidation of leading players, we only get to know what is being talked about. However, the event will bring these leaders under one roof during the ‘Center Stage’ to learn the real story and driving force behind the developments.

Actionable insights

The industry has leveraged Phocuswright research for long and the events serve as an extension to the research. Phocuswright India 2017 won’t be any different. The team brings the learnings from their extensive researches to live discussions during the event. The data driven insights will allow brands to plan better and stay ahead of the curve in the competitive market.

Battleground

Phocuswright India will also give the travel industry innovators a platform to showcase their ideas on a global stage through ‘Battleground’. The innovators get ten minutes on stage to pitch, demonstrate and face off with Phocuswright Dragons-industry’s most informed insiders, to explore opportunities with potential investors, incubators and partners.

Phocuswright India will be hosted at The Leela Ambience Gurugram, February 28 – March 2, 2017. You can find more details and register for the event at www.phocuswrightindia.com. Discounted tickets available until February 3, 2017.

The post Why you can’t afford to miss the upcoming Phocuswright India appeared first on TravHQ.

Almost every conversation about the upcoming trends in the industry eventually converges on mobile. With the increase in dependence on mobile devices, it seems that the little rectangle is at the centre of everything. And it was at the centre of conversation recently at the Phocuswright Fast Track hosted during the inaugural BITB 2016. Vikas Bhola, Regional Manager, Indian Subcontinent at Booking.com, Parikshit Choudhury, Senior Vice President & Global Head, Lodging Partner Services, Goibibo, Ritwik Khare, Senior Vice President & Head of Business Development, Hotels, MakeMyTrip joined Tony D’Astolfo from Phocuswright to talk about mobile and its role in the accommodation space.

One common factor that emerged from the insights shared during the discussion is that travellers are now booking their stay closer to the date of travel. There is a significant rise in the number of hotel bookings even on the day of stay and these bookings are mostly carried out on mobile. This is partly driven by the discounting closer to the date of stay but the trend is there nevertheless.

Goibibo is witnessing similar patterns and Parikshit shared that close to 85 percent bookings are coming through mobile now. He also credited the developments in mobile infrastructure for the same as the increased speeds and better connectivity have helped the mobile space grow.

A very crucial factor to keep in mind to cater to mobile first customers is to account for the worst. The app should be tailored for low end devices and bad network because the entry point to the ecosystem for a large number of mobile internet users is a basic Android device coupled with slow connectivity.

In the e-tailing and online travel space, we see a lot of push towards mobile apps. However, all the OTA representatives shared the opinion that mobile web shouldn’t be ignored. With limited storage on mobile devices, people don’t want to keep multiple apps and that is why, a significant fraction of mobile users come via mobile web. Phocuswright research also indicates that mobile web continues to be popular and shouldn’t be ignored. Many travel startups invest heavily in developing apps and driving downloads but considering the trends Phocuswright and the industry leaders are observing, they should focus on providing a great experience on mobile web in the early days and start pushing app at a later stage when there is a good volume of repeat customers.

Going forward, all three brands plan to continue innovating around mobile. Booking.com is looking at the WhatsApp friendly users and recently introduced chat option to connect travellers with hoteliers. Along with that, the brand is also exploring the uses of user data to personalise the experience. Goibibo on the other hand is building a review and rating system into the booking tool to boost users’ confidence and drive more bookings. MakeMyTrip is looking beyond hotels for growth and recently introduced Right Stay to explore the alternative accommodation segment. The developments in these companies give a hint on what segments offer headroom for strong growth in travel space.

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Tours and activities are challenging to distribute and very few seem to have cracked the activity code. Fragmented market and the lack of standardisation further add to the challenges in this space, not only in APAC but worldwide. Viator is one of the largest booking platforms for tours and activities and stands out by curating activities rather than being just a booking channel. Last month at Phocuswright India, we got a chance to catch up with Alex Lopoukhine, Director, Business Development at Viator and he talked about how their home market is different from APAC and how new technologies will change travel in future. Here is an edited excerpt from the conversation:

We have recently seen lot of interest in activities in APAC. What opportunities do you see for Viator here?

I think that the SouthEast Asian market represents a huge opportunity for Viator. We have been focussed on US and Europe for a while now but over time we realised that there is a huge opportunity in terms of supply and distribution in places like India, China, Thailand, etc. People in these regions are getting ready to explore the world and we certainly want to help them do that.

What are some challenges specific to the APAC market?

There certainly are some challenges. Viator was created with the notion that we are applying the product specifically for US or largely the western demographics. We had to recognise that the kind of product someone from India is purchasing is not necessarily going to be similar to the kind of product someone from US is purchasing. Of course there always will be an overlap but we have to be sensitive to different types of nuances. We have to see what is the activity, what is featured around it, are there price sensitivities that we have be cautious of before we try to sell through our platform.

Quality of providers is a challenge for a large number of activity booking platforms. How do you keep a check on that?

We have a team of people, our sales team, which is responsible for building the market. So before offering any activities from India, someone from the team will visit India, meet multiple suppliers, make sure they match our quality levels and then sign them up. This ensures that the people we are working with match our standards and travellers are happy with the experience. There are certain aspects that we look for to make sure they fit the standards.

You were a part of discussion about digitization of customer experience during the conference. How long do you think before we start relying heavily on data and AI for personalising the customer experience?

I come from San Francisco where I see a large number of companies experimenting with AI and data intelligence. Brands are trying to use vast array of data and trying to come up with the smartest methods to attract customers with minimum effort to make it feel seamless. I don’t think anyone has cracked that code yet but the direction is right. Certainly there are people who have made good progress but I think the challenge is much bigger than what we think it is.

While brands work on improving AI, messaging apps are filling in the void. They enable you to have a conversation with an actual human who understands the market and consumer needs. I think the two can live together in harmony to an extent. People are always going to be around where you are looking for personalisation but the dependency on machines will go up as we go forward.

And should we expect the new wave of chat bots to threaten the app ecosystem?

I think they have the potential to do that. A lot of travel companies are trying to get involved with bots now and we have seen them develop bots for various applications in different kind of messaging services. These bots are adding another dimension to their websites or apps. An increasing number of brands are exploring the options to see what works and what doesn’t. But it is really good to see people experimenting with the new technology and it could open up many options in future.

Any tips you would like to share for young startup founders?

One of my favourite books is called ‘Rework’ by the founders of 37signals. What I loved in that book is that it gives a very clear and precise explanation of what you should be focusing on while developing a product. A large number of successful products essentially iterate out of things that already exist. The most important part is to stay different and stay unique. You shouldn’t try lying to yourself that you are somehow unique when actually you are not. Find the problem that you are trying to solve and focus entirely on that. Don’t try to do too much at the same time, focus on the single problem and make sure you solve it before shifting focus to something new.

You can find all the stories and interviews from Phocuswright India here.

The post Alex Lopoukhine shares how Viator cracked the activity code appeared first on TravHQ.

During the recently concluded Phocuswright India, 10 innovators took the stage and each one of them had the potential to change the way we travel. Over the past few years, Asia-Pacific region has been home to many such innovative startups and last year, Amadeus introduced Amadeus Next to help the growth of these young startups. Through Amadeus Next, they collaborate with these startups to evolve new ideas in travel by leveraging Amadeus’ technology expertise and customer reach.

Simon Akeroyd, VP, Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Amadeus Asia Pacific

Simon Akeroyd, VP, Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Amadeus Asia Pacific has been driving the Amadeus Next initiative ever since it came into existence. We got a chance to speak with him during Phocuswright India to learn more about ‘Next’ and the potential it holds. Here is an edited excerpt from the conversation:

How do you think the startup ecosystem in APAC differs from that of the west?

The startups in this region and other parts of the world are in very different stages. In US and Europe, there are more barriers for them due to the dependency on legacy systems. However, in Asia, we have seen that many startups start from scratch as there isn’t so much historical legacy system to build on top of. I see the young companies in Asia-Pacific being able to grow much faster than in other regions.

Talking about the trends, many of the initiatives that we see in Asia are similar to the ones we see elsewhere. It is just that the chances of successful execution are higher here than the other regions.

What was the idea behind Amadeus Next?

The intention is to improve the way we, as Amadeus, work with smaller companies. In the case of Amadeus Next, these smaller companies are travel startups but we have some other initiatives as well which are with more mature companies.

We feel that Amadeus is across the entire travel chain and we power travel, something that we are really proud of. We have to be able to participate where activities are happening in the travel space. To achieve that, we have to shift from being an internally focussed IT company and open up to innovations and enhance them. That is why we started Amadeus Next.

Why the focus on APAC region?

We decided to focus on APAC partly because of some of the reasons I mentioned earlier, being able to move quickly and being responsive. Another reason is that we noticed the innovators in Asia are hungry and excited for being able to make a change and for us that is a very positive factor.

Operating Amadeus Next like a startup, what have been the learnings so far?

We have learned a lot since we launched Amadeus Next last year. When we launched and decided to work with startups, we thought the biggest challenge would be money. We were under the impression that they would all expect us to help them raise funds, however, we learned that it is not about the funding. Obviously it isn’t easy for startups to attract investors and raise funds but that wasn’t their prime focus. Their focus was on getting access to customers and improving their technology. So, quite quickly, we learned that for startups, it is more about how we can open up our technology for them and bring our customers to them.

There are also some takeaways for Amadeus among which the big one is “Get out of the building”. In large corporations, there is a tendency to spend a lot of time debating amongst a closed group about what is right, what people want and you end up wasting a lot of time that way. For Amadeus, the learning is to get out of the building, ask the consumers and stop debating internally if they want blue or red. So one of the benefits of the program is that we improve as a company and learn to be closer to the market.

What is next for Amadeus Next?

There are two major trends that we see in the travel space. The first one, sharing economy is already impacting us significantly and is shifting towards access economy. During the Travel Innovation Summit, Myles cars talked about reducing redundant inventory for cars. In Amadeus Next we have Orahi, which is a carpooling service and I think that kind of shared economy, which is already here and is growing very fast, is going to be a major interest area for us.

On the other side of it, there is the Internet of Things, pretty important but less well defined than the first one. We don’t know yet where it will end up. The impact of wearables on travel is very hard to guess. We are good at some parts of Internet of Things but there is still a lot to be learned in that space and it will be a massive change for us.

Audio Compass won the Amadeus Next award during Travel Innovation Summit at Phocuswright India. You can find more details about Amadeus Next and the startups that are a part of it at next.amadeus.com.

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