TRAVEL TRENDS - INCORPORATING TRAVELTECH AND NOVACANCY
7 July, 2008, 7:31:25 AM
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Events
Bookings are now open for TRAVELtech 2008 - Australia's leading online travel marketing, distribution and tech event. This year's theme is the open-ended Year of Living Dangerously? It can be taken a couple of ways ... the obvious: oil, inflation, interest rates and marketing costs up - challenges ahead. But it's also a question, and the good news is there's increasing evidence the online channel may be the place consumers turn at times like these. Find out more at TRAVELtech 2008. Confirmed speakers are listed below, while the latest program has just been posted - it's packed with industry leaders and topical content.
TRAVELtech, founded in 1999, focusses on the latest online travel marketing and web-based innovations. It has a well-established reputation for delivering relevant, high-quality content and excellent networking - more than 300 delegates attended in 2007. If you have any questions, suggestions or would like to sponsor, please call Martin Kelly on (612) 9882-1575. Please visit the TRAVELtech photo gallery to see some photographs from the 2007 event. Sponsors include:
INFORMATIVE, educational, provocative and sometimes controversial, Search Engine Room is the leading event for Australasia's rapidly-growing search industry. Founded in 2004, Search Engine Room is locally owned and operated. It's held annually in Australia and New Zealand, attracting widespread industry support, and has a reputation for quality content, excellent event management and staging. The program focus is on respected, well-connected speakers delivering topical, relevant information. Search engine optimisation and marketing is well-covered, while broader industry issues are also addressed through interviews with leading search industry figures. There are case studies and debates, plus panels led by informed journos. Audience interaction is encouraged and Search Engine Room always makes an effort to be forward-looking, tracking the latest search and digital trends. Consumers are also given the once-over, enabling delegates to gain a better understanding of their customers. This format has great appeal and delegates come from around the country. Apart from search marketers, marketing managers, e-commerce managers, online business owners, senior management, digital media executives and agency types predominate. Companies large and small from diverse industries are represented, including travel. Some have been in the game for years, others are just starting out. If all this sounds interesting, and may like to attend a Search Engine Room conference, please subscribe to Search Engine Room News, which is packed with original content and comes out every five or so weeks. If you have any questions, please call Martin Kelly on 612-9882-1575.
A RECORD crowd attended the second No Vacancy acommodation industry conference in Sydney recently. It was a great day featuring industry leaders, panels, case studies, presentations and debate. There was a touch of controversy with hard questions asked - and answered. Program topics included online distribution, consumer trends, channel and yield management, carbon offsetting, star ratings, modern marketing tactics, pricing, social media strategies and plenty more. No Vacancy will return in 2009 - please sign up for the TravelTrends.biz newsletter if you'd like further details. |
Expedia To Crack US$1 billion Marketing Barrier
By Martin Kelly, Editor, Travel Trends EXPEDIA will spend more than US$1 billion on sales and marketing in 2008 as the global online travel giant moves to capitalise on the strong sales momentum it has generated over the past 18 months. The company is now spending more than 40% of its revenue on sales and marketing - US$283.4m in the first quarter alone … 29% more than the previous year. Sales and marketing is by far the major cost for Expedia – general and administrative costs come in at 11% of revenue while technology and content consumes 7%. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Expedia – which has just reported a first quarter net profit of US$51.3m (up 48% year on year) - will continue turning up the marketing volume. This will happen “as we continue to support our established brands and geographies, experience continued keyword inflation, invest in our global advertising and media businesses, and expand our various sales teams. He said most of the sales and marketing budget is spent on “traffic generation costs from search engines, brand advertising (primarily television) our private label and affiliate programs” while around 22% goes on staff and other indirect costs. One the flip side, Expedia has also experienced strong growth in advertising on its own sites like TripAdvisor. In the first quarter Expedia websites generated $US$64m in advertising and media revenue, up 73% over the previous year. “We have a ton of work left to do on the media side of the house … but we’re excited by the significant opportunity this area represents. “While 50% of US travel is purchased online, just 8% of travel advertising is directed to the internet … we expect this gap to narrow over time.” Travel Trends: May 13, 2008 Latest News
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