Internet social networking and self-help travel websites are drastically changing the holiday planning landscape, the founder of the world's largest online travel advisory service said.
By surfing the web, travellers can get the opinions of friends
and thousands of other tourists rather than having to rely on
glossy brochures, guide books or travel agents, Stephen Kaufer
said.
"We are extremely bullish of the view that social networks -
getting advice from your friends - will fundamentally change the
way people are looking at travel today," the Harvard graduate
said.
Kaufer is head of the TripAdvisor site which publishes the opinions
of travellers about countries, cities, hotels and restaurants
world-wide.
It claims to have the world's largest online travel
community.
Other sites in its network include airfarewatchdog.com,
bookingbuddy.com, cruisecritic.com, holidaywatchdog.com,
independenttraveler.com, seatguru.com, smartertravel.com,
travel-library.com and travelpod.com.
Speaking ahead of a speech he was giving on Thursday to the Online
Publisher's Association conference in London, Kaufer, 45, said
people could now access opinions from millions of people for free
instead of the traditional guidebooks.
He said social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace were
also changing the way people viewed travel.
Previously people would ask their friends, get some ideas then
visit a travel agent.
Now, he said, people instead valued honest opinions online.
"Certainly world-wide we have already seen that huge shift to the
`I don't need the travel agents any more,'" he said.
"If your sole function as a travel agent is to help to get someone
through the booking procedure for a tour or a flight then forget it
- the websites are pretty easy now."
Kaufer founded the site in the American town of Needham, on the
outskirts of Boston, in 2000.
The company, which recently published its top 100 best locations,
is to launch an aggressive expansion into Asian markets with
area-specific sites in countries such as China and Japan.
It follows the successful rollout of other sites in European
countries. His company was bought by the IAC/InterActiveCorp in
2004 for an estimated $430 million ($NZ563 million) and was wrapped
into the Expedia online travel agency group.
