Tech giants Google and Alibaba are bigger travel threats than ever

While much attention in the travel industry has been given to “disrupters” like Airbnb and Uber, the continual foray of tech giants into the travel space is increasingly posing a bigger worry for industry players in the longer term.

The huge growth potential in the online travel space, particularly in Asia-Pacific, is attracting attention from non-travel players, noted Rob Brown, Travelport’s group vice president and managing director – OTA, speaking during a panel at the recent Travelport Live conference in Bangkok.

“We’re not looking at competition among ourselves – which OTA is growing the fastest or online versus offline,” he remarked.

“Competition is really coming from big technology players. Certainly, Google and Alibaba are already very much in the travel space, but many other companies are coming along as well.”

A poll conducted during a panel discussion at Travelport Live revealed that most attendees regarded Google the biggest threat to travel brands, more so than other tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, Alibaba or Tencent.

As Google fleshes out its flight and hotel comparison tools, Expedia is feeling the heat too, said James Marshall, the OTA giant’s vice president, transport partner services, Asia-Pacific.

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