
booking by mobile
Why?
Because our booking habits have changed. We don’t all flock to the travel agents and queue to get that additional child discount or an extra £10 off. We don’t need to. Access to the internet has made the booking period so much easier – the rush to get that particular holiday has been removed from the high street and taken to the internet. Now, fewer of us book in January, knowing that there will be offers at a later date. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic announced their sales before Christmas. Forcing myself to watch a dreary offering of Christmas (and not Christmassy) programmes in the daytime, I have seen one holiday company following the old tradition by promoting its villa holidays but other tour operators have been few and far between.
Today tour operators will spread their promotional monies around a lot more. They will wait until people return from the Christmas break aware that television doesn’t deliver the viewing figures it once did. They will promote using your smart phones to capture your interest or popular websites. Newspaper ads will still feature large because – although newspaper readership has dropped – it still delivers.
You are still key but finding you and persuading you to spend your money on a particular destination or holiday has become more difficult for them. They know you will take a holiday. What they will be trying so very hard to do is to use their services be it a travel agent, an online agent, a tour operator, airline or destination. You can even bid for a holiday online saying what you want and asking companies to pitch prices to you.
Gone are the days when you besieged your local travel agent and all they had to do was open on Boxing Day and take your deposits!