With the publication of its latest Tour Operator Technology Review, Genesys has seen several significant trends that may affect the way tour operators do business.

The travel technology consultancy has seen a growth in the number of technology suppliers providing e-commerce solutions. Paul Richer, Senior Partner, comments, "It appears that selling online has become a'must-do' activity for every tour operator. There are no longer any excuses.Saying that your product is too complex, too tailor-made or too expensive tosell online simply won't wash with the consumer. If you cannot close the dealonline there and then, you run the risk of your customer bookingelsewhere."

The review highlights several technology suppliers that can get tour operators selling online at very low cost. These new entrants into the tour operator systems marketplace are using the latest development languages toconstruct straightforward yet reasonably comprehensive reservation systems thatare specifically designed for online tour operator sales. Richer adds,"Selling online need no longer be an expensive exercise. In fact, onesystem supplier is offering tour operators use of its system completely freefor the first 50 bookings. There has never been a better time for smaller operatorsto compete on a level playing field with their larger competitors who can moreeasily afford heavy investment in technology."

Another trend that has seen significant growth is the ability for systems to connect electronically to bed banks and other third party product suppliers to offer real-time availability and booking. Richerstates, "Virtually every system supplier is offering operators the abilityto sell far more than their own stock. Systems now offer seamless connectivityto bed banks, transfers, flights and other products." Richer warns,though, "There is a danger that with universal connectivity to relativelyfew bed banks, tour operators will all end-up selling the same stock, socommoditising the industry. It is very important for operators to maintaintheir own unique identity and remain competitive by continuing to negotiatecontracts directly with the hotels which they sell most. They should only usethird parties to supplement their own stock, so widening the range of producton-sale but maintaining a unique core."

For the first time, the Genesys' review includes mobile solution providers, although there are just three out of the sixty suppliers in the review. Says Paul Richer, "There is tremendous hype surroundingm-commerce - selling via mobile - yet right now there is only a trivial amountof sales being made via this channel. Whilst the mobile juggernaut is nowgathering steam for location based services such as navigation and mapping,locating tourist attractions and finding a local restaurant, the jury is stillout on whether mobile will be a mass-market sales channel for holidays andother leisure travel products. A holiday is a big ticket item for mostconsumers and they may well prefer the comfort of viewing hotels and destinationson a larger screen."

Asked to consider whether mobile can simply be ignored by tour operators for now, Richer responds, "Whilst there may only be a small payback to investment in mobile technology, I think it is vitally important foroperators to view their own Web sites on mobile devices to make sure that theyare still readable. Many consumers are now using small screened devices such asnet-books and Apple's newly launched iPad. They are also surfing the web ontheir even smaller screened mobiles. You need to make sure your web site isstill readable on these devices even if you do not specifically invest inmobile technology."

The Genesys 2010/2011 Tour Operator Technology Review can be bought directly from Genesys at http://www.genesys.net/publications.htm . It costs GBP69.50 plus shipping. It provides details of 60 tour operator technology suppliers across 170 pages.