The Internet which was virtually unknown to masses a couple of decades ago has now become the life blood of many economies & societies. This global phenomenon has brought the human kind closer than ever before. Ranging from information websites to novel concepts of social networking, Internet has become a way of life for many people.According to Internetworldstats.com only 16 million people used the Internet in 1995, where as today over 1200 million surf the cyber space which amounts to nearly 20% of the world population. The growth of the Internet has created a whole new dimension in doing business as well. The speed of information & the convenience has made online a promising venture for many markets.
In travel industry around a decade ago, travel agents had a better say when it came to selling travel solutions than its original providers such as airlines & hotels etc. But today the increased use of online travel has made it easy for the consumer to plan & book their travel needs easily on their own over the Internet. Hotels, airlines & other travel service providers are able to directly get in touch with customers through the Internet.Online travel portals & websites also have an upper hand over conventional travel agents on costs as well. The traditional travel agent requires more manpower & huge investments to expand its business where as an online portal can get in touch with the whole world through a single domain purchase. However, the intense competition among online travel portals & various hospitality websites have reduced intermediary commission rates thus offering far more economic value to online transactions.Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/939556
