The Evolution of Online Travel

The Internet has revolutionised the travel industry. It is predicted that by 2010, roughly 46% of total travel transactions globally will be made directly by consumers online. Divided into leisure and corporate sectors, the phenomenal growth in online travel is largely attributed to the Internet outgrowing its infancy shoes, by offering a convenient, secure, ‘live’ and interactive platform – together with heaps of information and credible online service providers. It has empowered travellers to be well-informed before making their decisions – and paying for whatever services they require directly.

Asia Web Direct is proud to have played a significant role in this online revolution. Phuket.com was the first website in Asia to launch real-time bookings with instant confirmation and room availability checks across multiple hotels. With this innovation, the top-selling hotel at the time enjoyed a quadruple number of bookings in one year. One of the latest additions to our impressive stable of websites is the very popular last-minute reservation system LateStays.com – featuring an ‘Extranet’ facility that allows hotels to manage their room allotments and rates directly, and instantly – another prime example of how we have anticipated consumer behaviour to meet the changing needs of travellers and hotel partners alike.

The Road Ahead
Since its inception, Asia Web Direct has led the way in online travel distribution in Southeast Asia. Vision, passion and technological innovation form the foundations of our successes, supported by sound business principles like integrity, credibility and assuring customer satisfaction through a philosophy of exceeding expectations. Essential to that are also the close relationships we maintain with thousands of hotel partners and leading tour operators worldwide.

We are passionate about providing a world-class service, and will continually strive towards excellence in all spheres of our industry. As new and advanced technologies become available, rest assured that we will be ahead of the pack again, leading by example.