Karen Gee is a director of new Internet company eDreams. The same company has just signed up First Choice chief executive Peter Long to become a non-executive director alongside former First Choice chairman Michael Julien.
Digital television is also proving a lure. Airtours head of specialist products Gary Wardrope is to launch a division to sell holidays within the Travel Channel.
But how long will the honeymoon period last? Can the travel market really sustain so many new media companies and what will distinguish success from failure?
Paul Richer, of travel technology consultancy Genesys, said: “There is no bubble to burst, it is more a tidal wave waiting to hit. We still haven’t seen the full impact of the Internet and digital television.
“It’s a strange scenario because it’s still a testing ground with so much money being ploughed into new media.”
Richer said one reason why so many names are keen to get involved in new media is that their individual risk is low – much of the big money comes from venture capitalists.
He added: “Venture capitalists are investing millions on marketing which is not generating a great deal of revenue at the moment. They believe that investment in marketing will build the brand name and result in more people shopping on-line but what they don’t know is whether people will drift away once budgets are cut.”
According to Richer, household names such as Airtours, Thomson and First Choice will not have to invest as much as start-up Internet specialists such as Iglu.com, ebookers, Expedia and Travelocity.
“The likes of Airtours are already household names but few have heard of a company such as Iglu.com,” he said.
Richer believes the digital TV revolution will dramatically change the shape of booking procedures.
“Digital TV will be big for leisure bookings, particularly attracting those holidaymakers who travel frequently,” he said.
Karen Gee’s move to new media after years working in tour operating was prompted by her confidence in the future of travel shopping through personal computers.
“This is not a short-term measure,” said Gee, eDreams’ director of UK marketing.
She added: “Ihave never seen so many backers fascinated by the Internet and keen to invest. They are obviously looking for a return and are going to back people with a drive to be successful.”
Gee is adamant that individuals with a pedigree in Web site creation, deployment and marketing can work well with travel professionals, putting together good business plans.
“These are not people jumping on the bandwagon. They understand their respective businesses,” she said.
“If you differentiate, you will be a niche player and survive. If you do nothing and copy, you will fail.”
Gee also acknowledged that, with no branding, her company will have to focus on the challenge of maintaining awareness.
“Building a brand is not just about creating an empty cup. It’s what you put in the cup that counts.”
RECENT months have seen an exodus of industry personalities going from mainstream travel to take up positions in new media.
Former Thomson Tour Operations managing director Charles Newbold has become chairman of on-line ski company Iglu.com and Rail Europe sales and marketing director Karen Gee is a director of new Internet company eDreams. The same company has just signed up First Choice chief executive Peter Long to become a non-executive director alongside former First Choice chairman Michael Julien.
Digital television is also proving a lure. Airtours head of specialist products Gary Wardrope is to launch a division to sell holidays within the Travel Channel.
But how long will the honeymoon period last? Can the travel market really sustain so many new media companies and what will distinguish success from failure?
Paul Richer, of travel technology consultancy Genesys, said: “There is no bubble to burst, it is more a tidal wave waiting to hit. We still haven’t seen the full impact of the Internet and digital television.
“It’s a strange scenario because it’s still a testing ground with so much money being ploughed into new media.”
Richer said one reason why so many names are keen to get involved in new media is that their individual risk is low – much of the big money comes from venture capitalists.
He added: “Venture capitalists are investing millions on marketing which is not generating a great deal of revenue at the moment. They believe that investment in marketing will build the brand name and result in more people shopping on-line but what they don’t know is whether people will drift away once budgets are cut.”
According to Richer, household names such as Airtours, Thomson and First Choice will not have to invest as much as start-up Internet specialists such as Iglu.com, ebookers, Expedia and Travelocity.
“The likes of Airtours are already household names but few have heard of a company such as Iglu.com,” he said.
Richer believes the digital TV revolution will dramatically change the shape of booking procedures.
“Digital TV will be big for leisure bookings, particularly attracting those holidaymakers who travel frequently,” he said.
Karen Gee’s move to new media after years working in tour operating was prompted by her confidence in the future of travel shopping through personal computers.
“This is not a short-term measure,” said Gee, eDreams’ director of UK marketing.
She added: “Ihave never seen so many backers fascinated by the Internet and keen to invest. They are obviously looking for a return and are going to back people with a drive to be successful.”
Gee is adamant that individuals with a pedigree in Web site creation, deployment and marketing can work well with travel professionals, putting together good business plans.
“These are not people jumping on the bandwagon. They understand their respective businesses,” she said.
“If you differentiate, you will be a niche player and survive. If you do nothing and copy, you will fail.”
Gee also acknowledged that, with no branding, her company will have to focus on the challenge of maintaining awareness.
“Building a brand is not just about creating an empty cup. It’s what you put in the cup that counts.”
THEFIRST global service for tracking audiences, advertising and user activity on the Internet has been launched in the UK.
Called Neilsen//NetRatings, it has been launched by ACNielsen eRatings.com, a joint venture company created by market analysis specialists ACNeilsen and NetRatings.
Its target is to measure more than 90% of the world’s Internet audience in more than 30 countries by the end of 2001. Neilsen//NetRatings gathers data by monitoring the activities of people who regularly use the Internet either at home or work to see how long they are surfing, what they are looking at and how effective advertising campaigns are.
Initially, 4,000 people in the UK will ‘go live’ from March and another 1,000 will do the same in the Republic of Ireland.