White Paper: The OpenTravel Initiative

The travel industry needs a better strategy for the cost-effective communication of travel-related information. Currently, it is very difficult for suppliers, intermediaries and travelers to share and exchange information. This difficulty has thus far limited the variety of distribution channels available to travel suppliers.

As the industry’s sales and marketing professionals are aware, current distribution methods make it very difficult to differentiate services, reach new categories of consumers, and create innovative offers. The channels themselves define the relationships between suppliers and customers.

Customers are limited in their ability to combine the services of suppliers, to select services that best match their needs, and to compare services from different sources. To do so, travelers must navigate a complex web of interrelationships, which they elect not to do in most cases.

The internet has been viewed by many as a way to overcome the limitations of traditional distribution channels. The travel industry has embraced this technology and become one of the largest participants in electronic commerce. In reality, however, the move to the internet has done little to alter the existing distribution model for travel. The problem remains the inability to communicate information without costly and time-consuming interventions.

Although the travel industry is unique, most industries are also constrained by the inability to communicate information easily over the internet. To resolve the problem, internet technologists have recommended developing industry dictionaries to define the meaning of data terms.

Each dictionary establishes a common vocabulary (called tags) for a specific industry and facilitates the communication of information between suppliers and to customers. Because of the singular importance of the internet, it appears inevitable that tags will be implemented using the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) that is a new internet standard. Some industries, including automotive manufacturing and healthcare, are already working together to develop their own tag vocabularies.

Similarly, the travel industry must organize a steering committee at once to outline and drive forward a process for building a unique tag vocabulary.