Mastering the Travel Intermediaries: Origins and Future of Global Distribution Systems, Travel Management Companies, and Online Travel Agencies [Hardcover]

This book chronicles the role of travel intermediaries: global distribution systems (GDS), travel management companies (TMC), and online travel agencies (OTA) in the distribution of travel products. The book covers the historical development of these intermediaries and explores their current state and future prospects. Almost six decades after the introduction of computerized reservations systems and four decades after the introduction of Global Distribution Systems that allowed travel agents to make automated airline bookings, the distribution of air products is amid a major transition. A fundamental change is pricing power, which shifts from the GDSs to the airlines for the indirect channel. These changes are driven by advancements in technology, market economics, and airline cost controls, leading to the emergence of new revenue models that will permanently alter the landscape of air distribution. As a result, travel intermediaries are experiencing the effects of these turbulenttimes and must adopt innovative approaches and initiatives to adapt and transform their business models rather than maintaining the status quo. In addition to the ongoing transformation, over the next decade, the advancements in emerging technologies like blockchain and decentralized digital identity will further revolutionize the distribution landscape across all sectors of the travel industry.

An Introduction to Travel Intermediaries.- Origins of the Global Distribution Systems (1925  1983).-  GDS: Platform Power (1984  1995).- GDS: The Internet, New Channels and Transparency (1996  2011).-  Scale Matters: GDS Air Shopping.- GDS: The Turbulent Years (2012  Present).- The Impact of Evolving Business Models on Global Distribution Systems.- A Fast Response System: Airline Shopping in a NDC World.- Offer Management, Dynamic Pricing, and Order Management.- Origins of Online Travel Agencies.- Hotel Bookings and the Dl3�