Challenges in driving online travel services in Russia in comparison to Scandinavian markets

We are the feeling of travelling, we are freedom fighters and we are creating a strong momondo brand in Russia.... Independent Travel Site Meta-Search Searching hundreds of websites Travel Hunting Tool The of Travel We love technology and have a passion for travel.

History Travel search site momondo was founded by innovative IT programmers with a passion for travel, and launched as a flight search engine in Denmark in March momondo was launched in Russia.

The obvious challenges Language Network - OTA’s - Airlines - Media Travel culture Business culture - Business rules - Strict laws - Administration/documentation

Russia vs Scandinavia in some boring numbers Russia has the biggest internet population in Europe.

Imagine… “Imagine the opportunities that arise from a market with 10 time zones, 140 million people, 200% mobile phone penetration and 48% internet penetration. However, since this market is expanding constantly, Russia’s great future has just begun.” Source: Google

only 12% Russians have international passports only 10% (15 million) have traveled abroad at some point of time about a third chose the internet to book their tickets Only 5 million people in Russia using online travel services Source: Online travel in Russia

E-travel market potential More independent travelers More frequent travelers due to increase in income Education and transparency in holiday planning

Big opportunities come with BIGGER CHALLENGES!

E-Travel market challenges Customers: Not used to online payment Prefer package tours from tour operators People travel 1-2 times per year to limited amount of destinations Language barrier Competition: Generally, the travel site market is characterised by intense competition. The airlines’ own booking engines and well established OTA’s grab part of the market as well.

Denmark: Russia: Travel habits

Meta search market challenges Customers: Low awareness of meta search Trust issues Market: Big amount of OTA’s How do we deal with it: Educate our customers Trustful OTA’s with a good reputation Exciting brand and supporting products

momondo’s users in Denmark vs. Russia. DenmarkRussia Who are our customers?

Who are they? They are smart and independent They know exactly what they want to buy and which price they are ready to pay They don’t need recommendations and they do not trust advertising Their best friend and relied partner is Internet - not TV Generation Y

TV is widely used as a brand channel in Scandinavia for online travel brands.

How to attract the smart-asses? Online marketing Skilled local online marketers Learn more about your customers Social Media Travel bloggers Reviews of our website Product Listen to our customers Develop the best product on the market Surprise them Make them our best friend Don’t oversell. Remember, they know the price!

Social Media 82% of Russian users are registered on Social Network Sites!

Denmark – heavily increase in mobile. Traffic Source

Russia – increase in both mobile and desktop traffic. Traffic Source

Conclusions Russia is a very challenging and unique market Need to focus more on Online Marketing, Social Media, travel bloggers in Russia Growth of independent travelers in Russia vs Scandinavia Meta search is becoming more widely used in Russia

momondo is looking forward to the challenges, to develop the collaboration with our Russian partners and to inspire more Russians to travel! momondo loves Russia! Thank you!