| ALDA TOURS -BOTTOM LINE, IT'S ABOUT YOUR TIME (AND YOUR EXPECTATION) |
Alda Tours was launched on May 1, 2006, to provide you, the travel buyer, with an easy-to-use, one-stop shopping place for all your travel planning. We are utilizing the best available technology and focusing on you, along with the suppliers (airlines, hotels, etc.) who have the services you need.
We've been working hard to design a travel website that provides you with an easy, efficient way to search for the lowest prices available. We're confident that you will see the benefits of using Travelot right away and will want to share your savings with everyone you know.
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| A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW ALDA TOURS CAME TO BE... |
The way people access fares and book travel has changed dramatically over the last decade. Online travel has grown exponentially during this period from $200 million in online travel sales in 1997 to a projected $60 billion in 2005. And this trend will only continue - for the simple reasons that online booking is the most convenient way to make reservations for consumers and it is the most cost-efficient distribution channel for the airlines and hotels. Gone are the days of interminable waits on the telephone, one airline or hotel at a time.
But even as online travel booking was growing by leaps and bounds, there still was a glaring need for a new way to plan travel. Alda Tours was founded in 1998 with the goal to invert the process by offering travel services at destinations rather than at cities of origin. Who better than a destination-based travel agent with all-important local knowledge to help you plan your stay? So while Alda Tours is now up and running with the finest technology for booking airfares and hotels, it's the destination services that we'll be rolling out in early 2005 that will continue to distinguish us from other online travel sites.
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| THE ADVANTAGE OF OUR TECHNOLOGY... |
Most other online travel sites that have the ability to search for airfares and compare prices by accessing a consolidated database known as the Global Distribution System (GDS). While the GDS offered consumers a convenient way to comparison shop for airfares, it did not necessarily provide the cheapest way to book travel. Consumers found that they could save fees associated with the GDS by buying their tickets directly from airline websites, even if they'd started the process at a GDS site. So leaving the GDS agency-enabled search site and logging on to the airline site could save a consumer some money, but they were losing valuable time.
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| META-SEARCHES (OR, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY THROUGH THE WEB...) |
Recently, technology was developed that allows a travel search to simultaneously query multiple databases, eliminating the need for a single consolidated database such as the GDS. This new, "meta-search" technology not only allows the consumer to comparative shop, but also gives airlines (and hotels) a way to book reservations directly without any commissions or GDS fees. This process results in the "Most Efficient Way to Find the Lowest Price" and is a win-win for both the consumer and the suppliers.
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