Travel trade looks to the internet for future branding strategies

A recent meeting with a potential client was most interesting. Despite our earlier protestations, they are determined to embark on a traditional mass economy campaign focussing on traditional media for their acquision and retention campaigns.

And yet the travel industry, after a slow start, is beginning to adapt to new technologies. This may be a result of the bulish travel industry. And the internet is going to have a major role to play, indeed, according to David Soskin, the CEO of online travel price comparison company, cheapflights.co.uk the internet will replace newspapers as the primarly vehicle for travel advertising.

Soskin told an ABTA business lunch recently: "As a generation of computer experts comes of age, newspapers will have to move quickly to stop their advertising revenues haemorrhaging. Young travellers will not be seeking travel deals on TV or a newspaper: they'll be online. Travel companies that look to effective internet advertising models will pay less, sell more and account far more accurately for the success of their spend."

Soskin went on to draw parallels with the North American market, where major newspaper groups have seen first quarter travel advertising disintegrate this year.

Soskin announced that in the UK, internet advertising has overtaken that of cinema and radio advertising in the UK. He predicted internet advertising will outstrip 'outdoor' advertising - including billboards, posters and transit cards in 2006.

Soskin also claimed that with 99% of the UK population now able to access high-speed internet services, price comparison websites are set to become the main source for travel deals.

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