New Air Canada Site To Strengthen Online Growth.
Published: 09 Sep 2001
The airline announced Destina.ca, "a comprehensive online travel site that will offer customers one-stop travel shopping, reservation and destination information services." Air Canada chose the name destina.ca and the tagline "Your ticket to the world", to evoke the Internet's limitless ability to stimulate interest in exploring far off worlds. The name has a clear link to the adventure and vast possibilities inherent in travel and the pleasure of arrival at destination. Consumer testing of the name destina.ca has been overwhelmingly positive.
Travel agents have expressed their concerns about this launch; Air Canada, in line with other airlines, has been heavily promoting online seat sales that are only available through Air Canada.
The site “will be available in the coming months”, according to information on the home page.
Lise Fournel, currently Executive Vice President, Commercial with Air Canada, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of destina.ca, effective immediately. Ms. Fournel has held a number of senior executive postions during her 22-year career with Air Canada. As the senior commercial officer at the airline, she was most recently responsible for the airline's marketing and sales and product distribution activities. As Vice President, Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, she oversaw the airline's Y2K preparations and general information technology development, building on previous senior management experience in the areas of pricing, yield management and electronic distribution.
Calin Rovinescu, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy with Air Canada will serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of destina.ca.
The North American travel industry is expected to continue growing. Total travel bookings in the US are forecasted to increase from USD $153 billion in 2000 to USD $178 billion in 2003, while total travel bookings in Canada are forecasted to increase from USD $17 billion in 2000 to USD $20 billion in 2003.(1)
The Canadian online travel industry will grow from CAD $600 million in 2000 to CAD $4.5 billion in 2005.(2)
The number of Canadians who use the Internet will climb from 15.4 million (48%) in 2001 to 21.7 million (65%) in 2005, making Canada one of the most wired countries in the world.(2)
Fifty-nine per cent of Canadians with Internet access researched online travel in 2000; nearly one in five Canadians purchased travel services online; a further 21% stated that they intend to purchase travel online in 2001.(3)
Online travel services are widely believed to be the single biggest Internet growth area. The Canadian online travel market is destined to grow rapidly; gross bookings will increase by 69% to reach CAD $1.1 billion CAD in 2001. (4)
According to a recent Ipsos Reid study (Feb. 2001), the online travel booking industry has the potential of doubling within the next year - with the equivalent of almost six million Canadian adults using the Internet to book travel by the end of 2001. (5)
Sources: (1) Joint average of several analysts reports, including Forester Research, Jupiter Communications and Statistics Canada; (2) Canadian Projections: Benchmarking Report - January 2001, Jupiter Communications; (3) Fall 2000 Canadian Interactive Reid Report; (4) "Online Travel in Canada", August 13, 2001, Webtravelnews.com; (5) The Canadian Interactive Reid Report news release, February 20, 2001.
www.destina.ca
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