Cyprus hotels and travel agents alert
A new report is out and is indicating that the main tour operators that operate in Cyprus have an increase on their online platforms.
• In the year to September 2008, 33% of TUI UK's mainstream business came from online, making it the tour operator's biggest sales channel.
• Thomas Cook's recently launched e-commerce platform, Starfish, is helping increase conversion rates on thomascook.com by more than 300% and web sales in the UK have reached 27% of total bookings.
• EyeforTravel Research indicates that 26% of all UK hotel rooms are now booked online and we predict this rate will continue to increase at 15% per year till 2011.
• In a recent Expedia survey, 50% of respondents expect to save GB£250 on next year's holiday by booking their trip online, with 30% planning to switch from a traditional high street agent to an online source in 2009.
The question now is. Do you as hotelier or incoming agent know enough about online marketing? Do you have the knowledge to compete in this global market called online market? Are you ready to learn, to adapt, to adopt and improve your everyday business practices?
Internet is a free or almost free space but knowhow and expertise is something that we all need to pay for. So invest in expertise and knowhow so the free internet world makes money for your company.