Lastminute.com Goes After TUI With Vacation Push
Skift Take
While traditional tour operators might not offer the flexibility that Lastminute.com does with its package vacations, they do have an advantage in terms of exclusivity.
Lastminute.com Group is looking to take market share away from tour operators across Europe as it puts more effort into growing its package vacation business.
In 2018, non-flight products, which includes vacations hotels and cruises, generated more revenue than flight-only sales for the first time in the company's history. Dynamic packaging — where travelers combine flights and hotels, creating their own products — grew 41 percent, generating revenue of $68.3 million (€60.1 million.)
Lastminute.com also has a foothold in the traditional tour operator market, where it resells other companies' vacations, thanks to its 2017 purchase of German booking site Weg.de. Eventually Lastminute.com expects to shift consumers towards its own dynamic packages in order to generate better margins.
“This means we move from a classical online travel agent like Booking.com or Expedia to a more modern tour operator that is focusing on vacations,” said Marco Corradino,
Lastminute.com CEO, on an earnings call with
