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Expedia Group CEO highlights growth opportunities in online travel sector

Despite the online travel industry becoming crowded with a large number of operators, the opportunities for growth still exist.

Expedia Group CEO Peter Kern has proclaimed that online companies have tremendous growth potential, despite the competitive nature of the industry, with technology offering great opportunities in the sector.

Kern’s remarks came at the Skift Global Forum 2022 in New York as he responded to Rafat Ali, founder, and CEO of Skift, who asked whether the days of exponential growth in the online travel industry were over. Kern developed his argument by highlighting the number of areas in the world outside North American and Western countries where there is still large growth potential in online travel bookings.

Growth driven by technology
The situation in the online travel industry mirrors that of the iGaming industry, which features a diverse range of online casinos. The sector has experienced a boom over the past decade, making the industry one of the most competitive. However, there are a number of ways operators can set themselves aside from the rest. One is to offer generous welcome bonuses and free spins to new players, while another avenue is to use the best software for online casinos in Canada. This ensures that players are provided with an optimal experience when playing traditional table games such as roulette and blackjack online, but also when playing video slots, which are becoming increasingly sophisticated with computerized graphics. So, while technology has enabled a large number of online casino operators to enter the industry, companies can stand out from the crowd by using top-quality software.

Expedia now considered a technology company
This technological aspect as a driver of business was also emphasized by Kern during an interview with CNBC, along with the consolidation of the company’s loyalty program. The program will also take advantage of technology as the app will be an integral part of membership and consequently, it increases customer retention. Hailing the return of growth in the business travel sector globally, he also pointed out that Expedia now has many tens of millions of customers which means it can now be considered a technology company due to the way it is able to serve its client base at scale. In addition, these technological solutions will set it aside from competitors in the sector.

Kern also highlighted the enormous opportunities afforded by cooperating with the many thousands of offline travel agents. Technology will also play an important role here, with the Expedia technology platform available to travel industry partners around the world regardless of the size of the companies. The potential for growth in this area is extremely high, particularly as he pointed out that while the travel sector is a multitrillion-dollar market, online travel operators have a market share of just 20%.

Despite the online travel industry becoming crowded with a large number of operators, the opportunities for growth still exist in areas of the world where the transition from offline to online is not yet fully developed. In the process, it will remain essential for operators to take full advantage of technological advances in order to assert themselves in a competitive market.

News Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | + Posts

Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.

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