on-line information hits high street sales

TRADITIONAL travel agencies are losing sales because their on-line rivals are providing customers with a wealth of information and strong content, delegates at the eyefortravel e-Tourism conference have been told.

Tiscover chief international business officer Dr Karsten Kärcher said destination marketing organisations and web-based agencies are increasing their share of the market.

"The market is changing and the web is giving buyers more power. The trend is to move away from traditional agencies for travel advice as well as purchasing it.

"It is not just price, there are other reasons such as convenience. It is also fun to use the web and you can even assemble your own packages on-line,” Kärcher said.

Kärcher conceded strong content comes at a price and admitted Tiscover, which provides management technology to small and medium enterprises and destination marketing organisations, had spent over £6 million perfecting its products.