The document discusses the competition between mobile apps and travel agents in the tourism industry. It notes that mobile apps are gaining popularity for travel searches and bookings due to their convenience and around-the-clock availability. However, many travel agents believe that apps have not significantly impacted their business yet and that they can still provide value through personalized human attention. The document interviews representatives from various travel companies and mobile apps to discuss the trends and future implications for both travel agents and apps in the industry.

1. Sonam Saini and Bhoomika Thakur
The world is increasingly becoming social and mobile. With the advent of
Smartphones, tablets and e-readers, the number of tech-savvy con-
sumers is rising. There are already 2 million Android devices and 10 million
Smartphones being used every day, having a significant impact on busi-
nesses and consumers. The introduction of Smartphones and mobile
apps have made life of a traveller little easier. Now, you do not need to
visit a tour operator or tour company for your travel queries because a lit-
tle gadget in your hands can work all this for you.
According to the recently published Google report, Hotel searches via
mobile grew 30 times from 2011 to 2014 and hotel buyers will grow to 2.4
times by the end of 2016. Moreover, 56 per cent of users who book hotels
online have a travel app as well.
In this story, we have incorporated the views of travel agents and mo-
bile app companies to find out the answer to the question raised by this
revolutionary change that who will conquer the future travel dominance-
a mobile app or a travel agent? The story gives an idea on how the tour
operators are matching their existence in competition with the mobile
apps, which provides attractive deals for the travellers every day. We have
also tried to analyze the impact that this competition has generated in
the tourism market and what potentials does it hold for future.
Holiday IQ, with over 30 lakh members from 80+ Indian cities is India’s
first holiday planning website powered entirely by reviews, photos, videos
MOBILE APPS OR TRAVEL AGENTS -
WHO WILL CONQUER THE FUTURE
TRAVEL DOMINANCE?
BOOMING TREND OF MOBILE APPS FOR TRAVEL IS GIVING A STRONG COMPETITION TO THE TOUR
OPERATORS. IN SPITE OF THIS FASTEST GROWING TREND, TOUR OPERATORS BELIEVE THAT IT’S NOT
GOING TO COMPLETELY AFFECT THEIR BUSINESS AS IT STILL LACKS THE HUMAN TOUCH AND
PERSONALIZED ATTENTION.
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and other advice generated from these Indian travellers. The company
claims to serve around 50 lakh Indian travellers plan their vacations on
HolidayIQ.com every month of which 50 per cent activity is through mo-
bile.
Commenting on the mobile app innovation and how Holiday IQ man-
ages to maintain a desirability in the competitive market, Hari Nair,
Founder & CEO, Holiday IQ, said, “HolidayIQ.com provides highly cus-
tomized rich information and insights on places, hotels, sightseeing and
transport made uniquely relevant, what we call the ‘science of holidays’.
We take pride in enabling travellers to discover, plan holidays and share
holiday experiences.”
Sharing the success story of their app, Nair said that Holiday IQ’s online
travel app received tremendous response within a couple of days after it
was launched in October 2014 trending at the play store. “However, our
constant battle within our team was to provide access to this large data-
base of information on-the-go, where internet accessibility is the biggest
challenge. We have touched 98,306 mobile downloads of the Holiday IQ
app so far, and are undoubtedly certain that this offline feature will be
an added impetus to every traveller search,” he said.
Nair believes that the offline guides will certainly prove to be every
traveller’s boon especially when travelling in rural pockets of the country,
jungles, desserts, hilly areas etc.
Talking about this changing trend and how mobile apps should be
adopted, Keshav Kumar, General Manager, Perfect Travels & Tour Pvt.
Ltd., said that in the present era of technology advancement, there is no
doubt that mobile apps in general have conquered huge success over the
past few years. “Looking at recent statistics, it is clear that mobile apps
have become a critical component for travel companies,” he added.
Commenting on the reasons behind this revolutionary change of book-
ing through mobile app, Kumar said, “Mobile technology has changed the
way people plan, research and book their travel arrangements and also
created a new way for travel agents to capture customers.”
“In order to drive our forces with the mobile technology, we also have
in our plan for future to send tailored promotions directly to a customer's
mobile, increasing the chances the message to be read and helping drive
to create demand during low periods. By tailoring promotions, we are able
to interact in a more personal way with customers and send more relevant
promotions,” Kumar added.
Kumar suggested the travel agents to plan and design a mobile
friendly website and app offering services to people using mobile devices
thereby creating an edge over competitors who are slow or failing to re-
spond.
“Convenience of booking from your desk and the liberty to compare
rates, products and limited time are few reasons for the revolutionary
change brought by the mobile apps,” said H. S. Duggal, Managing Director,
Minar Travels (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Referring this change as a futuristic sign, Duggal said, “Immediately,
I don’t see a large impact on tour operator business but in future it will
certainly have its adverse impact on their business.” Although their web-
sites are mobile compatible, yet Minar Travels is in the process of launch-
ing its own app soon, he informed.
Echoing similar sentiments, Homa Mistry, CEO, Trail Blazer Tours India,
said, “Introduction of mobile app has not yet affected the inbound indus-
try as we are in the B2B segment working with international tour opera-
tors. But yes, in coming times mobile app will completely change the
shape of travel industry.”
According to a research conducted by TripAdvisor, most of the global
travellers are attached to their mobiles and becoming tech savvy. India
leads the pack with 98 per cent of travellers from each country saying
they use their Smartphones on holiday. 41 per cent Indians use their
Smartphone to find things to do and 35 per cent to search for hotels. De-
spite the increasing number of travellers using their mobile to plan and
research, the trend has not yet crossed over to the booking stage.
Commenting on this research, Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAd-
visor India, said, “The most exciting part is the huge opportunity that mo-
bile booking represents with a significant portion of travellers using their
Smartphones to find things to do and search for hotels whilst they are
travelling. The good news is that the majority of Indian hoteliers already
have mobile offering for travellers and of those who don’t, nearly two-
thirds plan to introduce it in 2014. It is only a matter of time before this
gap is bridged and booking process on mobiles is facilitated to reach more
people on the go.”
Mentioning this tool as a game changer, Shiban Kotru, President,
UniGlobe Indica, Travel & Tours Pvt. Ltd., said, “Working of tour operators
in India is still based on conventional system and the business of travel
and tourism is by and large covered under this conventional system itself.
The new mobile app introduced will make fringe benefits to this business
with more exposure to services. Mobile app tool will prove to be a game
changer and sizable percentage of business will get affected.”
Although, in today’s phase, planning a vacation through an app is a
most frequent activity, the on-ground services that a travel agent offers
are also non-ignorant. Sharing the same views, Sanjay Datta, Managing
Director, Airborne Holidays, said, “The challenge is definitely there but
what a traditional agent can offer in terms of value is not comparable
with apps or internet. Traditional travel agents will always thrive because
a traveller always looks for such travel agents who believe in selling serv-
ices rather than discounts. In U.S.A, the passengers are coming back to
traditional travel agents after realizing the value and expertise of agents.”
Saying so, Datta believes that in future, Airborne Holidays might need
to launch the app but in current situation they don’t feel the requirement.
He said, “Maybe in near future we will launch the app, but not immedi-
ately. Our clients are all high end and they depend on us to provide serv-
Nikhil Ganju H.S. Duggal Sharat Dhall
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ices as per their requirements.”
There are already 2 million android devices
and 10 million smart phones being used every
day, having a significant impact on businesses
and consumers. There is an increased focus on
mobility with on-the-go applications, providing
a host of solutions and it also helps connect di-
rectly with the consumer and engage customers
through applications.
Datta also praised the services offered by
these apps and stated, “Since everyone is hold-
ing a Smartphone, now it’s easier to get infor-
mation instantly rather than calling anyone for
the same. So, yes the change is inevitable &
technology is ever changing but soon it will
reach its optimum.”
Commenting on this trend of travel bookings
through mobile apps, Sharat Dhall, President,
Yatra.com, thinks that the special packages and
convenience of bookings are reasons behind the
uprising of this trend. He said, “An app is con-
sidered more user friendly as there is an ease of
booking at your own convenience, anytime and
everywhere. Mobile apps have a distinct advan-
tage of engaging the user due to more relevant
and contextual targeting and personalized prod-
uct offerings definitely lead to creating happy
travellers.”
Dhall mentioned that since the introduction
of the mobile app, they have witnessed more
visibility and growth. “The app has definitely
helped us gain more visibility, maintain a higher
degree of brand with end consumers and also
increase and expand our customer base. Our
user base via the mobile has seen a humongous
growth. There are significant technology efforts
being undertaken at our end to provide a highly
personalised experience over the mobile. We
now get over 30 per cent of our business from
the mobile platform,” he added.
It is said that what is there on the menu is
not served on the platter while booking travel
itineraries online. In contradiction to this state-
ment, Dhall said that not only Yatra but also
most of the mobile app companies ensure that
travellers get everything that is on offer and if
they do not have something, it is clearly men-
tioned.
“Apps are making their mark on our lives and
how we do business already. At Yatra, we always
make sure that our users get the best deals
while making their travel bookings. We always
offer what is available,” he adds.
Going through all the views of the tour oper-
ators and travel app companies, we can say that
mobile travel app revolution has somehow
managed to create its own space. May be not
completely but certainly, it will increase the ef-
ficiency of the work, as said by some of the tour
operators. People are adopting this new age cul-
ture with a broad mind. Also, keeping in mind
the efficiency of a mobile app, some of the tour
operators who currently don’t have an app are
planning to introduce it soon. The introduction
of the mobile apps will surely benefit their busi-
ness in many ways.
Talking about meeting the customer satis-
faction and requirements, Smartphone apps
have a bright future as they provide 24*7 serv-
ices, anytime and anywhere. Today’s traveller
needs anything and everything right away and
apps are fulfilling their expectations, saving
their time.
The evolution of Smartphones and mobile
applications has not only enhanced the overall
booking experience by bringing OTAs (Online
Travel Agents) to the fingertips of travellers, in
fact, travellers have started referring to OTAs
for destination research.
Also we can look at the statistics, which
shows that mobile booking is the next growth
frontier. While only 3 per cent of Indian trav-
ellers booked the accommodation for their last
trip via mobile, there are 81 per cent of Indian
hotels who offer their services through an app
to travellers as compared to the global average
of 76 per cent.
In spite, of this fastest growing trend, it’s not
going to completely affect the business of the
tour operators as it still lacks the human touch,
personalized attention and value service that
they provide to its customers.
Homa Mistry Hari Nair Sanjay Datta
Shiban Kotru Keshav Kumar
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