Travel News

As the UK’s leading media brand for the online travel industry, it is probably incumbent on us to pitch in a few forecasts to what might happen during 2007:

• Cheapflights.co.uk will be listed for the first time on the London Stock Exchange in order to raise capital for its European ambitions.
• Moneysupermarket, parent company behind meta search engine Travelsupermarket, will also float to boost funds.
• Networking site WAYN.com will be bought by one of the leading US travel groups…
• …but a handful of travel groups will attempt to launch similar social sites of their own.
• British Airways will set a precedent for the airline indusattempt by dramatically overhauling its commercial arrangement with the GDSs.
• One of the big UK national newspaper groups will sign a major discount with an online travel agent to enable booking on their travel channels…
• …while another with bypass the OTAs completely and head straight for a partnership with a meta/travel search engine.
• We will finally see the so-called Genies (GDS alternatives) move into the European travel distribution space
• We will see Sabre’s new private equity owners snap up another travel technology firm to grow the business.
• Mobile travel technology (that works) will make its long-awaited debut
• Google will introduce the next phase of search, drastically changing the way people interact online, including the way they purchase travel.

Add your own, tell us how wrong we are, via the comments button.

Kevin May, editor
Tricia Holly Davis, chief writer [who joined us this week]
Travolution

Original post by Travolution Blogger