Challenges in driving online travel
services in Russia in comparison to
Scandinavian markets
Independent Travel Site
Meta-Search
Searching hundreds of websites
Travel Hunting Tool
The
of Travel
We love technology and have a passion for travel.
We are the feeling of
travelling, we are freedom
fighters and we are creating
a strong momondo brand in
Russia....
History
Travel search site
momondo was
founded by
innovative IT
programmers with a
passion for travel,
and launched as a
flight search engine
in Denmark in 2006.
16 March 2010 momondo was
launched in Russia.
The obvious challenges
• Language
• Network
- OTA’s
- Airlines
- Media
• Travel culture
• Business culture
- Business rules
- Strict laws
- Administration/documentation
Russia vs Scandinavia in some boring numbers
Russia has the biggest internet population in Europe.
Imagine…
“Imagine the opportunities that
arise from a market with 10 time
zones, 140 million people, 200%
mobile phone penetration and 48%
internet penetration. However,
since this market is expanding
constantly, Russia’s great future
has just begun.”
Source: Google
Online travel in Russia
• only 12% Russians have international passports
• only 10% (15 million) have traveled abroad at some
point of time
• about a third chose the internet to book their tickets
Only 5 million people in Russia using
online travel services
Source: http://www.tourism-review.com
E-travel market potential
• More independent travelers
• More frequent travelers due to increase
in income
• Education and transparency in holiday
planning
Big opportunities come with
BIGGER CHALLENGES!
E-Travel market challenges
Customers:
• Not used to online payment
• Prefer package tours from tour operators
• People travel 1-2 times per year to limited amount of
destinations
• Language barrier
Competition:
• Generally, the travel site market is characterised by intense
competition. The airlines’ own booking engines and well
established OTA’s grab part of the market as well.
Travel habits
Denmark:
Russia:
Meta search market challenges
Customers:
• Low awareness of meta search
• Trust issues
Market:
• Big amount of OTA’s
How do we deal with it:
• Educate our customers
• Trustful OTA’s with a good reputation
• Exciting brand and supporting products
Who are our customers?
Denmark
momondo’s users in Denmark vs. Russia.
Russia
Who are they?
Generation Y
• They are smart and independent
• They know exactly what they want to
buy and which price they are ready to
pay
• They don’t need recommendations and
they do not trust advertising
• Their best friend and relied partner is
Internet - not TV
TV is widely used as a brand
channel in Scandinavia for online
travel brands.
How to attract the smart-asses?
Online marketing
Product
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Skilled local online marketers
Learn more about your customers
Social Media
Travel bloggers
Reviews of our website
•
•
•
Listen to our customers
Develop the best product on the
market
Surprise them
Make them our best friend
Don’t oversell. Remember, they
know the price!
Social Media
82% of Russian users are registered on Social Network Sites!
Traffic Source
Denmark – heavily increase in mobile.
Traffic Source
Russia – increase in both mobile and desktop traffic.
Conclusions
• Russia is a very challenging and unique market
• Need to focus more on Online Marketing,
Social Media, travel bloggers in Russia
• Growth of independent travelers in Russia vs
Scandinavia
• Meta search is becoming more widely used in
Russia
momondo is looking forward to the challenges,
to develop the collaboration with our Russian
partners and to inspire more Russians to travel!
momondo loves Russia!
Thank you!