Is the dot-com bubble just about to burst?

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Is the dot-com bubble just about to burst?

FOUR years ago, the Internet was almost unheard of and the thought of actually using it to book travel seemed pie in the sky.

But it wasn’t long before phrases like the World Wide Web, Internet and surfing became buzz words.

As far as the travel industry was concerned, it got swept up in the tidal wave of dot-com madness. All of a sudden, every company had to have a Web presence. Even if the site didn’t actually do anything, didn’t really look very good, or wasn’t updated very often, it didn’t matter – you just had to jump on the dot-com bus.

The doom merchants were predicting that long-established traditional agents were a thing of the past. The warning that agents will have to adapt to survive was a much-banded phrase. And over night, dot-com millionaires were being created – at least on paper.

Some disbelievers said it wouldn’t last and it was all hype. They could be right.

One of the first serious casualties is Destinex.com chief executive Tony Bennett who has sadly seen the dream that he has spent the last nine months preparing fall apart.

Bennett says the main problem is that venture capitalists are just not prepared to put in the money they were throwing at the dot coms a year ago. But he’s already thinking about his next move and is sure to bounce back.

Lisa James – news editor