TORONTO — Expedia Group is currently evaluating the inclusion of tour operators’ pre-bundled inventory on Expedia.ca.
“The package marketplace is large and attractive. Expedia Group currently competes in this marketplace both by creating our own packages and by sourcing pre-bundled inventory from tour operators,” an Expedia Group spokesperson told Travelweek.
“Because pre-bundled inventory from tour operators is not sourced directly from Expedia Group supply partners, it may result in an inconsistent experience for our travellers. For this reason, we are evaluating the best way to deliver packages sourced via third party tour operators on Expedia.ca.”
Rumours about possible changes have been circling in the Canadian travel industry for several weeks. The word was that Expedia would focus more on dynamic packaging, and that changes could impact Expedia.ca and Expedia TAAP, the company’s trade-friendly booking portal.
There’s no official word yet on whether Expedia TAAP will be impacted by the changes.
“As we’ve stated in previous earnings calls, any changes we are making to our organization are to sharpen our focus by doing fewer things and being great at them,” the Expedia spokesperson told Travelweek. “We continue to assess and evolve our priorities and teams to focus efforts in the most valuable areas.”
We followed up for more details, and received this response: “We are only evaluating the third-party packages found on the All-Inclusive Vacations section on Expedia.ca. The technical changes being evaluated will not impact retail travel advisors. This is all we are sharing at this time, but I would emphasize that the changes being evaluated are part of our promise to put traveller experiences at the core of everything we do.”
