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In an industry first, online travel agency ZUJI Australia announced that it will remove its online booking fees in Australia. As of Friday 4 September 2009, ZUJI Australia customers will simply pay the promoted cost of a flight without any additional travel agency booking fees, thereby making travel for Australian consumers more affordable than ever before.
With more consumers now researching their travel online (77% of all trips booked in Australia are researched online), growth in online travel is significantly outpacing the traditional travel industry with a projected 15% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next three years. In 2009, US$25 billion is expected to be spent on travel, 24% of which will come from online.
However, people booking travel online on web sites other than ZUJI Australia may expect to pay between AUD$9 and AUD$50 per transaction in booking fees.
Peter Smith, ZUJI Australia’s General Manager explained the need to review booking fees, “Online booking fees were an important part of establishing the online travel industry in Australia some years ago. However, the industry is now well established here, and as such, we believe charging booking fees for online transactions is now outdated, and frankly, pretty unfair to Aussie travellers, in these tough economic times."
Mr Smith continued: “By removing booking fees and therefore reducing the cost of a trip, we hope we help more people take a holiday in the near future. We also hope travellers take the opportunity to compare ZUJI Australia’s ‘booking-fee-free’ approach with that of our competitors.”
Mr Smith concluded that this will be good for Australian travel consumers across the board, reflecting that by ZUJI Australia’s estimates, Australian travellers paid more than AUD$22 million in online booking fees in 2008.
“Everyone hates fees. We think that our decision will be supported by travellers looking for great value and deals, as well as by the online travel sector at large. The removal of fees is a turning point for the industry and is sign of confidence in the Australian economy, in online travel and Aussie travellers, and it should help stimulate more travel demand as a result.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
