| By Rosli Abidin
Yahya
Online travel portal Zuji, of
which Royal Brunei Airlines is a member, will launch its service
in the country after its success in Australia, Hong Kong and
Singapore.
Zuji said the portal is due to
be launched in Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Taiwan and New
Zealand later this year.
However, analysts warned that
Zuji could push out traditional travel agents by boosting
awareness on the advantages of buying over the Internet.
The travel portal has the
advantage of being backed by 16 airlines and US-based travel
portal Travelocity.com.
The airlines comprise All
Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, EVA
Airways, Garuda Indonesia, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, Japan Air
System, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Northwest Airlines,
Philippine Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Brunei Airlines,
SilkAir, Singapore Airlines and United Airlines.
"The big challenge for
travel agents in the Internet era is to prove to customers how
much they add value. They need to become less an order-taker and
more of a consultant, and to change their revenue model to put
less emphasis on airline commissions," said analysts.
They advised traditional travel
agents to invest in information technology and well-trained
staff to achieve better efficiency.
However others believed Zuji
would not pose a potential threat to the traditional travel
agent, as "there is enough room in the market for
everyone".
At present, online travel
bookings account for 1 to 2 per cent of all travel bookings in
Asia Pacific. By 2005, it is projected to reach 5 per cent,
which still leaves 95 per cent to be handled by travel agents.
Zuji also plans to offer its
technology to help travel agents expand their business online.
"We will help travel
agents create a customisable travel portal with their own look
and feel."
It said that travel agents can
concentrate on optimising the technology Zuji already has in
place, rather than trying to set up something like Zuji from
scratch, which will involve heavy investments.
The online travel portal is
expected to break even in three years after its hard or official
launch.
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