By EyeforTravel.com Correspondent in London<br><br>Opodo is planning to launch its operations in Italy soon.

Published: 13 Nov 2005

By EyeforTravel.com Correspondent in London

Opodo is planning to launch its operations in Italy soon.

Confirming the development, John Ryan, director of hotels, Opodo said the operations in Italy are being planned for December, joining the operations in the markets of the UK, France and Germany.

In another major development for the company, Opodo is planning to launch a model, which will offer different offerings for hoteliers in terms of merchant, retail, packaged and opaque options. The company will offer seamless connectivity, directly XML into CRS.

Ryan, who shared his viewpoint about the industry during the inaugural session `Be Connected - at the right time, for the right price' at the Travel Distribution Technology 2005 being held in London, said that there is need for sophisticated systems to manage distribution and support decisions that integrate with hotel PMS, RMS and Content Management systems.

He added that there is need for hotels and OLTAs to work strategically together, enhanced content and evolving rate strategies - rate parity and move to demand pricing.

On evolution of Online Travel - will Europe follow the US in shifting from offline to online, he said that in the US, the overall travel market in 2004 estimated at ?210bn, with online sales estimated to be 24% at ?50.4bn, with online agency sales reaching ?20bn representing 10% of the overall market. For Europe, he said, in 2004 the leisure travel market is estimated at ?220bn, online sales estimated to be 6% at ?14.2bn, with online agency sales reaching ?6.7bn representing 3% of the overall market.

On growth of online products, he said: Dynamic packaging is evolving at different rates in different European markets. Estimate will increase tenfold in UK over next few years; traditional packages: Exponential growth in recent months; Flights: Still dominate online sales. 97% of Low Cost Carrier flights sold via the Internet. In UK provide 1 in 3 domestic flights; Hotels: Biggest growth area in last 12 months.

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