Competition Analysis

New Media Entrepreneurship

Travel Group
Business Team

Overview of Travel
Industry
Generally two groups of travel websites: ones that aim

to sell travelers trip packages and ones that aim to give

travelers location information
The trip-package side is more for convenience, while
the information side is more for enriching travel
experience
The trip-package side feels more commercial, while the
information side feels more personal and intimate
The best sites are those that combine both (Lonely
Planet)
Navigation is usually easy, but pages can become
cluttered with repetitive information
The best community features are those that allow users
to write in forums, as well as share pictures, videos, lists
of itinerary, map mashups, through multimedia means
User registeration preferred though not required
Most make money through advertising, some also
through selling print guide books

Expedia
Mainly a website for searching and purchasing
travel packages
Allows features such as booking flights, hotels,
rental cars, cruises, and business travel
Indiana Jones Experiences gives recommended
itinerary through the main tourist sites
Makes money mainly through advertising, but also
affiliates, co-brand, and print label

QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Expedia
Rather easy to navigate through the site, with the
tabs on the top indicating transportation models
Powerful search engine allows one to find the best
deals on any flight/cruise from all locations using all
modes of transport
User can register or log in as guest to create own
travel itinerary
No community features--the descriptions of the tourist
sites provided by the site staf
Some material on the individual sites repeat
themselves
The disorganized advertisement banner placements
gives a feel of commercial site rather than personal
travel community
Over 20 billion in annual gross bookings
Gross profit as of 2008 grew 25% as compared to
2007

Lonely Planet
Similar to Expedia but with added features
Community features include the Thorn Tree Travel
Forum, a forum on which members share travel
tips
Encourage users to register
The Bluelist is a travel list created by users on the
most interesting places in a certain country
Video section allows users to upload videos of their
travels--works just like Youtube

QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Lonely Planet
Uses top navigation bar with sub navigation bar upon
roaming; rather easy navigation throughout the site
Organized by destination, flight bookings, print travel
guides, and hotels
Less emphasis on selling travel packages than
presenting travel location (convenience vs. content)
The Travel Stories section uses mainly Lonely Planet
writers to write reviews
Also includes travel blogs written by mainly users to
share travel experiences
Allows users to share photos and videos through RSS
feeds and through podcasts
Users can search for other users travel stories by
destination or by author
Other interactive features include map mashups that
allow diferent users to contribute reviews

Lonely Planet
Uses top navigation bar with sub navigation bar upon
roaming; rather easy navigation throughout the site
Organized by destination, flight bookings, print travel
guides, and hotels
Less emphasis on selling travel packages than
presenting travel location (convenience vs. content)
The Travel Stories section uses mainly Lonely Planet
writers to write reviews
Also includes travel blogs written by mainly users to
share travel experiences
Allows users to share photos and videos through RSS
feeds and through podcasts
Users can search for other users travel stories by
destination or by author
Other interactive features include map mashups that
allow diferent users to contribute reviews

Lonely Planet
Cons are that sometimes the video section, the
Bluelist Section, the Travel Stories, and the Thorn
Tree forum section overlap
Also the combination of user-generated content
and Lonely Planet writers content can be
confusing. Not enough aggregated content from
other sites (ex. Current news of the country)
Makes money through advertisement banners,
travel guide books, Lonely Planet TV, affiliations,
and supporting charity organizations worldwide
Ofers many diferent jobs including freelance
writer, editor, photographer, etc.
Also advocates responsible traveling by providing
tips on safe and environmentally-aware traveling

Fodors
Provides information on destination, hotels,
restaurants, cruises, tours and itinerary
The Travel News section comprises of staf reviews
of the selected locations and restaurants
The Talk section is a travel-based forum which
looks rather amateurish
The Book It link leads to the Expedias main page
to search for good deals on travel packages

QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Fodors
Travel News section also includes tips on traveling,
as well as photo contests which interact with users
Barely any community features except for the Talk
forum, clicking on users name just shows all his
comments
Overall rather easy to navigate around the site
Allows users to rate the restaurants and attractions
like other travel sites
Also aims to sell their travel books online
Claims to have up-to-date information on 300
destinations around the world
Also claims to attract 1.5 million unique visitors
every month

Frommers
Also mainly a travel website to sell good deals on
travel packages, but with more customer
information
Allows users to find destinations, hotels, and book
trips
Also includes trip ideas searchable by activities
(cruise, airline, road trip, etc) and lifestyles
(honeymoon, single, student, etc.)
Also includes travel tips such as going through
foreign airports and travel safety, written by staf

QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

Frommers
Frommers Tips and Tools page ofers a good
collection of tools such as calendar of world events,
cultural customs, entry requirements (passport and
visa), money exchange details, packing tips, and
insurance and health concerns
Also includes interactive maps
Community features include the Travel Talks forum,
organized by boards of diferent topics
Clicking on users name shows all his contributions
Makes money through advertising, content
licensing, affiliate program, as well as guidebook
selling and advertising
Also booking partners with third party commerce
companies in links