A Guidebook of Digital Distribution Channel for Finnish Travel Industry

The purpose of the research is to get an overview of the landscape of digital distribution channels in the global ecosystem, identify key and suitable sales channels in selected markets and provide a practical guidebook for Finnish Partners. The need for the Service is related to the mission of Visit Finland. Global tourism industry has been suffering from COVID-19 for almost 2 years. In the era of change, online distribution channels play an even bigger role in global tourism industry. To improve the competitiveness, it is vital for destination and tourism service provider to be accessible in digital distribution channels. Finnish travel companies are very heterogenic. There are large companies, big chains, but also a lot of SME and very small companies. Travel companies also vary in their status of digitalization. Some are advanced and using the digital marketing & sales channels efficiently. But there are companies who are not selling anything online yet. Companies also differ a lot in their digital competence and resources. The goal for Visit Finland in this research is to increase the knowledge of digital distribution channels and provide practical help & support to the Finnish travel companies regarding digital distribution channels from the supplier’s perspective. The end goal is to increase the Finnish inventory in key channels, build demand for Finland and increase sales for Finnish travel companies. The project includes two phases: 1 Insights of Visit Finland’s Finnish Partners and Visit Finland internal stakeholders 2 The Guidebook for Finnish Travel companies: 2.1 To landscape the global digital ecosystem from the supplier/travel companies' perspective. To describe the digital distribution ecosystem, different layers and the roles. 2.2 To build a “How to choose the right distribution channels for my business” -guide. To define the attributes that Finnish travel companies need to consider when choosing the right channels. 2.3 To make a catalogue of the important and suitable channels in selected markets, and the agreed attributes of these channels In this project channel is defined as a company / commercial brand like Booking.com, Viator, TUI etc. The procurement includes an option for adding secondary markets and an option for extra consultative work. This procurement is RRF-procurement funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility under the regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility. The Service is described in more detail in Appendix 1 Service Description.

Please see point II.1.4 and Appendix 1 Service Description.