Local travel agencies told to realize Net value

JAKARTA (JP): KLM Royal Dutch airlines called on Indonesian travel agencies on Monday to adopt e-commerce or risk loosing business to competitors with online ticket reservation services.

KLM warned that global airlines would eventually expand their Indonesian distribution channels to include online ticketing, as the development of this technology was inevitable.

"Travel agencies should not view e-commerce as a threat, but must adopt its positive sides," KLM marketing manager Juanita Wiyadharma said on the sidelines of a two-day seminar on motivation skills, organized by KLM and its partners Alitalia and Northwest.

Juanita said travel agencies would start competing against online ticket reservation providers within the next three to five years, when e-commerce would have become more popular in Indonesia.

She cited the United States and Europe as two markets where consumers had become accustomed to reserving flights tickets online.

"Consumers can bypass airlines and traditional travel agencies to get the best bargains for tickets," Juanita said.

According to KLM, the cost of ticket sales had dropped due to online ticketing, and was expected to drop further as more consumers bypass traditional distribution channels.

The report said that travel agents remained the most expensive distribution channel, costing $23 per booking, compared with the airline's online ticketing service, which costs $6 per booking.

Juanita said KLM had already implemented online ticketing in several European countries, where the reaction from the local travel industry had gone from resentment to a realization that adapting the technology was necessary.

The Jakarta branch chairman of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (Asita), Meity Robot, agreed that a change for Indonesian travel agencies was bound to come with the advent of e-commerce.

"There is no other way but to take advantage of e-commerce technology," she said during the seminar.

Websites like Yahoo.com, Expedia.com, Biztravel.com or BananaTravel.com offer consumers almost the same range of services as traditional travel agencies, including reservations for hotels, car rentals and tours.

Several sites feature reservations with real-time access to scheduling, pricing and availability of tickets.

These virtual travel agencies also bring the ability to track down the lowest price of flight tickets available, based on consumers' own preferences.

Yesterday's seminar was aimed at gearing up travel agents to anticipate changes in the industry, such as e-commerce competition, Juanita, who managed the event said.

She said it was the first time this type of seminar had been conducted in Indonesia, which mixed training with entertainment.

"This seminar doesn't provide participants with KLM product knowledge, but with training to improve their self-motivation skills," she said.(03)