DISRUPTION & DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE EU'S ONLINE TRAVEL MARKET
23/02/2017
Written by Frederic Kalinke
Disruption and Digital Distribution in Europe’s Online Travel Market
In partnership with Phocuswright, SilverRail commissioned the following report in order to analyse Europe’s online rail market, with particular focus on the mounting competition amongst travel intermediaries to integrate rail.
The report focuses on the driving forces (outlined below) that sit behind this evolving market, and the challenges and opportunities that they present.
Key Market Changes
- Rail has taken a back seat to flight and hotel search when it comes to online travel.
- Service fragmentation and data complexity have slowed the pace of integration of rail into mainstream online travel shopping channels.
- As rail goes digital to compete with air and bus services, the potential for disruption to operators and intermediaries is very real.
- Market competition, liberalisation, and advances in digital distribution are steadily pulling rail deeper into Europe’s online travel ecosystem.
- Rail-centric OTAs and multimodal startups are gaining momentum.
- Technology companies are working to make rail schedule and pricing data more digestible to various third parties.
- The almighty consumer is looking to trusted online brands that incorporate a range of transport modes.
