The Travel Services division provides travel planning and travel management services via its travel agencies Matkatoimisto Area Oy and Suomen Matkatoimisto Oy. Estonia's largest travel agency chain, Estravel, is a subsidiary of Suomen Matkatoimisto. In Finland, Mikkelin Matkatoimisto Oy is a subsidiary of Matkatoimisto Area. In addition the division includes the travel IT solution and distribution service supplier Amadeus Finland Oy.
The Finnair Group's Matkatoimisto Area and Suomen Matkatoimisto are two of the three biggest travel agency groups in Finland. One of their assets is their strong brand recognition both among Finnish companies and in the leisure travel market.
Earnings model is changing
Changes in the travel sector have also reflected strongly on travel agencies. Since most airlines have discontinued the payment of sales commissions to travel agencies, the sector has had to recreate its earnings model.
The emphasis has moved from acting as intermediaries for standard journeys to sales of travel management and travel consulting services to companies and leisure passengers. Instead of the sales commissions that airlines previously paid, travel agencies' turnover now consists of service fees charged from customers.
Travel agencies have a long tradition of managing companies' travel arrangements. Moreover, the agencies have improved the efficiency of their operations as companies have cut their travel budgets. The development of Internet-based solutions and the increasingly widespread use of e-tickets have led to a decline in the number of travel agency offices. Service has been centralised into telephone service lines, which also create new earnings potential.
Tailored leisure trips represent a growing part of travel agencies' service provision. Hotel bookings, car rentals and planned activities linked to flight journeys increasingly constitute a package assembled by a travel agency. At the same time, the reservation of more simple journeys is done via the Internet services offered by the airlines and the travel agencies.
Processes and systems are developing
The development of travel sales on the Internet is continuing. Amadeus has developed products upon which travel service providers can build their own business sites. Consumers visiting the sites can search for travel options and attractive prices.
The industry realises, however, that the effective digital distribution of travel services is only one of the challenges facing travel agencies. Efficient system solutions to companies' travel needs combined with good customer service will enable travel agencies to create added value for their key customers.
Amadeus Finland has initiated a project aimed at spreading the Internet-based Amadeus Vista user-interface to Finnish travel agencies during 2005. Travel agency staff will be able to use a user-interface which combines all the available international and domestic travel services as well as an enterprise resource planning system ACE.
Travel agencies and their customers will benefit from the increased efficiency generated by centralised systems, from itinerary management to ticket writing. Innovations will focus on the cost-effective provision of new services that will pass added value on to the customer. |