How do you imagine the future of travel?

Hi! I'm going to be popping up on this blog often, so first of all, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Sara, one of the founders of MOGU, experienced in digital marketing and current product manager.

Since I began the adventure of entrepreneurship, I have been soaking up all the agents that make up the exciting but chaotic tourism sector. In this process I have identified two actors in the market that move at completely different speeds: on the one hand, Expedia, eDreams, Tripadvisor, Booking, Airbnb -companies commonly known as OTAs (Online Travel Agencies)- that in less than 10 years of life, have grown exponentially. Business models focused on B2C and on the planning and booking of hotels and flights. And on the other hand, we have the traditional tourism intermediation chain or, as my colleague Andrés would say: "the chain of tourism artisans", made up of those who have historically sold trips: tour operators or TTOOs (they create the trips), wholesale agencies (they distribute them) and retail agencies (they market them). While it is true that traditional tourism still has a higher turnover than OTAs, its annual growth is decreasing. This scenario has made me reflect on how I imagine the future of travel: in a few years' time, will we only travel with the Booking agency of the day? What will happen to the neighbourhood agency?

I believe that the travel of the future will combine elements of both worlds and it is precisely at this intersection that MOGU appears, as a technology that helps travel agencies become more competitive.

Let's take a look at the elements I am referring to. The Internet has been a great step forward and that is undeniable: at the click of a button anyone can book a flight, a hotel or rent a family van. It is no longer necessary to go to an agency to contract these services, which means a saving in time and, on many occasions, with comparators, also a saving in cost. Why go to an agency to buy a plane ticket if in 10 seconds I have access to three thousand airlines? It is clear that adding technology to tourism brings great advantages: efficiency and autonomy.

However, we know that when it comes to travelling, it is not only these two variables that are taken into account. Clients are also looking for advice, accompaniment, to feel protected and cared for. A trip is an illusion, an emotion, it is the fruit of several years of savings, it is an investment in family memories, in experiences that otherwise could not be lived. Nothing can go wrong, there is too much at stake. That is why sometimes an OTA is not enough and that is the moment when digitisation reaches its peak. The assistance of a human being is needed to configure a tailor-made itinerary, to suggest the best local food, to tell anecdotes about the destination that Google doesn't know or simply to solve any unforeseen events that may occur. The traditional agency, in theory, is the best vehicle to provide this more personalised service. However, is it really capable of supplying all those needs so associated with knowledge of the destination? No, it is not. Even if an agency sells trips to Costa Rica, it is not going to know which are the best beaches, the most impressive sunsets or the best dates to enjoy all the wildlife. We are aware that, in this sense, they need a push to be able to offer that added value to the traveller and we know that technology is the best way to achieve it. Thus, many startups are developing platforms for this purpose, from Triporate or Vyootrip, which focus on corporate tourism, to MOGU, which connects travellers with local expertsthroughout the trip.

We see the future of travel in this way, combining the technological level offered by OTAs with the irreplaceable human face of a travel agency.

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