Have you heard? Australia has another Online Travel Agency called Trip.com Australia. The OTA, which just launched Down Under this week, is being marketed as “a one-stop travel shop for Australian travellers”.
So where did Trip.com Australia spring from? Turns out they’re already quite well known elsewhere across the globe and are part of the Ctrip Group, the world’s largest OTA by TTV.
The new OTA offers flights, hotels, trains, car hire, airport transfers, day tours and attractions tickets across desktop, mobile and app.
They’ve also expressed plans to increase these product offerings within the year.
While still a young OTA (having only first launched in 2017), Trip.com says it has experienced three-digit year-on-year growth after entering five new markets and adding six new languages in the past 12 months.
During a presentation to introduce the brand Trip.com Head of Marketing Joanne Heggie said: “Trip.com is an app first online travel platform with no booking fees”.
“We are offering competitive pricing for all your travel needs and supporting travellers before, during and after their travels with our 24/7 customer service,” she said.
Sounds promising, but with no shortage of horror stories circulating about OTAs, it will be interesting to see how many Aussies choose to turn to the new online booking platform.
Plus, as we all know, real life Travel Advisors aren’t just bookers of holidays, they’re creators of holidays who work clients to turn their dream into a reality.
Plus, Travel Advisors are always by their customer’s side – so if something goes wrong you the client has someone back home to support them.
Just food for thought.
- READ: TRAVEL HACKS: Why everyone should use a Travel Advisor in 2019
- READ: HILTON vs OTAs: Hotel brand tells travellers to forget using booking engines