Case Report:
Huella(Zuji) Online Travel: Gaining Market Insight Into Hong Kong Consumers

Background information
Huella launched the website of HK in 2000, but the performance in HK is much lower than its other markets, and market share in HK by 2007 is 5%. Although with high internet usage, but the online travel industry had not picked up in HK. The purpose of the study is to find out the real reason, and define marketing strategy for future development of Huella on-line business in HK.

Why are online travel agents so successful in North America?
Via online booking system, the travelers could book tickets online. They could also chose another method of booking tickets which was basically Auction websites where again the customers could bid for tickets through the use of internet. In addition to this the customers could chose to directly get in touch with online portals established by the airlines through airline web engines and book tickets. Besides air travel booking, the travelers were also given the option to book hotels, cars and other services through the same portal.
24 hour availability brings big convenience, and traveler is able to make own arrangement online, fast speed of transactions and easy access, with discounted air-ticked offered online, all these factors made the North America travelers like to book online. In 2007, around 59% of air tickets sales were made online.

Online travel agent industry in HK and its attractiveness Despite the high internet usage of 59%, the willingness and awareness of Hong Kong people to use online travel agent, is among the lowest in the world. Research shows that 57% of Hong Kong travelers are very satisfied with efficiency of traditional agents, 48% of travelers need additional travel arrangement from travel agents, and part of travelers has the concerns of security of online booking. All these