The industry of TripAdvisor is travel advisory services. There are 2 billion people who use the internet and 43% use it for travel (“More Than 2 Billion”). The use of mobile devices in making travel bookings is currently the most exciting opportunity for the travel industry. According to a research by BuzzCity Travellers, travellers increased their usage by 50% in 2015 with 30% using their mobile devices in booking at the last minute (Saunders). The industry is not yet saturated with only four major competitors namely TripAdvisor, The Priceline Group Inc., Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. and HomeAway, Inc. (“TripAdvisor Competition”). Sales for online travel are growing at 12% annually but the competition will heat up with the looming entry of online retail giants Yahoo and Alibaba. (“Competition is Shaking”). A hey success factor is the performance of the website for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that will enable acquiring customers and information contributors. TripAdvisor’s singular focus on SEO allowed it to have engaged 100 million travelers. (“Trip Advisor is Now”).
Information technology is strongly supporting the performance needs of travel websites. In 2012, TripAdvisor’s IT sytems supported a database of 75 million reviews and opinions and 62 million unique monthly visitors per month (“Here's Why”). To manage these systems, TripAdvisor formed an engineering hub in Ireland with 30 teams that will focus on specific requirements. ( ) On top of the various features and functions in the website, a high-performing SEO must present the website to the travel market.
The current world expenditure for travel is over USD1.2 trillion and the travel industry seeks to maintain growth at more than 3.5% (“UN WTO”). From the current 43% of the world’s 2 billion internet users, the travel services industry is looking to increasing this further by offering more quality travel information to more people. TripAdvisor already has a listing of 890,000 hotels in 45 countries and its influence can move entire travel industries in countries towards improvement (Barrie).
Works Cited
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"Competition Is Shaking Up The Online Travel Market". Forbes, 1 May 2015. Web. 19 Jul. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/01/05/competition-is-shaking-up-the-online-travel-market/>.
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"Here's Why We Believe TripAdvisor's User Base Will Continue To Climb". Forbes, 1 May 2015. Web. 19 Jul. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/03/08/heres-why-we-believe-tripadvisors-user-base-will-continue-to-climb/>.
Kennedy, John. "Engineering the future – interview with TripAdvisor engineering SVP Andy Gelfond". siliconrepublic, 30 Sep. 2013. Web. 19 Jul. 2015. <https://www.siliconrepublic.com/careers/2013/09/30/engineering-the-future-interview-with-tripadvisor-engineering-svp-andy-gelfond>.
Barrie, Joshua. "TripAdvisor reviews are now so powerful they impact the tourist industry of entire countries". Business Insider, 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 19 Jul. 2015. <http://www.businessinsider.com.au/tripadvisor-affects-tourism-of-entire-countries-2015-3>.
"UN WTO Annual Report 2014". Web. 19 Jul. 2015. <http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/pdf/unwto_annual_report_2014.pdf>.
