WEB BRIEFINGS: adMart Travel sends shockwaves in SAR

<p>Sending cyber shockwaves through bricks and mortar travel agents in </p><p>Hong Kong, adMart Travel (www.admarttravel.com) was recently launched </p><p>Web-wise with a real-world branch network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The Hong Kong-based travel retail chain offers consumers the option to </p><p>reserve flights and packages on the Web, shop around for the best flight </p><p>deals and even check weather forecasts. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Swift payment of tickets is then possible by telephone, with free </p><p>delivery or the choice to pay and collect from any of the 13 outlets </p><p>scattered around Mass Transit Railway Stations (MTR) and city </p><p>centres. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>AdMart Travel vice-president Harriet Chong told MEDIA that online </p><p>booking capabilities would be in play this month, positioning the chain </p><p>in direct competition with local travel agents, due to its reduced fare </p><p>rates and use of the Galileo computerised reservation system. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Customers in Hong Kong were, she added, still reluctant to divulge their </p><p>credit card details over the phone, with call centre bookings raking in </p><p>only 30 per cent of total bookings. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Sooner or later, people here will get used to ecommerce payment - it's </p><p>just a matter of time," Ms Chong said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Injecting HK$20 million into advertising and marketing for 2000, </p><p>the MTR outlets were, she noted, "the best retail exposure we can </p><p>get". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The budget also encompasses travel brochures, regular "value-deal" pages </p><p>in Apple Daily and advertising in the Chinese-language lifestyle </p><p>magazine Eat & Travel Weekly (also owned by adMart boss Jimmy Lai). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While the website has not yet attracted major advertisers, Ms Chong </p><p>believes that once auction, chatroom, budget tour and member newsletter </p><p>facilities are established, the overall package would be "more </p><p>attractive". With English and Chinese versions of the adMart Travel </p><p>online, she said potential alliances with overseas agencies or website </p><p>providers were also in the offing. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The future in the next year is eticketing, so (profit) margins will be </p><p>getting slimmer - as it stands, more than 1,000 travel agents in Hong </p><p>Kong are already scared by our presence." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But Ms Chong said that adMart Travel was not a threat to local players - </p><p>instead, it aimed to corner "the high-tech end of the business" and </p><p>expand into overseas markets to drive traffic to the site. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>