Travel websites have long been an integral part of the international travel business. In Kazakhstan, online travel services are also gradually becoming an important area of e-commerce. Customers no longer look for travel agencies’ offline offices or spend time choosing destinations from catalogs and brochures. As customer expectations change, all the necessary tools are built into websites. Destination catalogs and tickets are electronic, consultants are virtual, and reviews make it easier to choose and check. If you still haven’t moved your travel business online, expect your customer flow to shrink.
What kinds of websites can be built for travel services?
- A corporate website to present services and destinations. This is a good place to start if you have a travel agency with an offline office and want to grow your customer flow over time but have a limited budget. Corporate travel websites let you present the company properly, add destinations and tour packages, publish unique and useful information, promote the site in search engines and accept tour requests online. A well-designed CMS built from scratch lets the project grow over time without extra, unnecessary rework.
- Travel websites for searching and booking tours. This is the second stage of travel business development. Unlike standard corporate websites, the platform also receives information from external sources via API connections. In other words, the website pulls information based on specific criteria, analyzes offers and shows the options that best match the visitor’s needs.
- Hotel search and booking websites. A separate area of the travel business, for both the global market and local destinations. There are several revenue streams: commission on hotel sales, services for corporate clients and income from selling banner ads.
- Travel portals with APIs for various services. You can start this business even without an online office, though experience in the travel industry is desirable. You can connect APIs and modules for selling flights and tour packages, booking hotels, renting private apartments and houses, cars and more.
- E-commerce systems with fully automated customer service. The most advanced level of online travel business. It requires a strong development team and significant investment, and allows you to work directly with hotels, tour operators and carriers without intermediaries.
A web studio that takes on travel portal development should have relevant experience. Contact Studio Nomad in Almaty if you plan to build your own travel website. We provide a full range of services — from developing a brand identity concept and building a website without templates to promotion and support.