Door-to-Door Trip Planning: Why so Difficult?

Summary

Technology has revolutionized retail. Consumers the world over are now just a few online clicks away from shopping and purchasing almost any product and service. The travel and tourism industry was one of the first sectors to make the online leap, putting a vast array of services within reach of a few simple clicks.

As a result, there is no end of options available to help a consumer plan, shop for, and purchase travel between two airports, or between railway station X and railway station Y. Over the last decade, online travel agencies (OTA), airlines, rail and metasearch companies have made this process even simpler, more convenient and almost instantaneous. Yet, very few travelers begin and end their journeys at the airport or the station, and leisure trips often include multiple destinations and transfer points. For example, a leisure traveler visiting Athens and the Greek islands from the US would be faced with planning upward of 20 separate booking transactions including multiple ground transfers at various locations, air travel and ferry service. And this is further complicated with unfamiliar destinations.