BTN Spotlight: Andy Washington, General Manager for Europe, Trip.com Group
Andy Washington is Trip.com Group’s General Manager for Europe, a newly-created role to build the global online travel agency’s European base.
A pioneer in online travel, Washington has been at the forefront of the rapidly-moving digital landscape for the past 30 years. His previous roles include Expedia’s managing director for northern Europe, Groupon’s vice president for travel and experiences, as well as senior roles at lastminute.com and Thomas Cook. He also served as chief executive of travel at dnata, overseeing brands including Travel Republic and Netflights.
His new role sees him build Trip.com Group’s footprint in Europe. Founded in 1999, the Chinese multinational is a global one-stop travel service provider with multiple brands, including Trip.com which is available in 24 languages across 39 countries and regions in 31 local currencies and sites. Its extensive hotel and flight network consists of more than 1.2 million hotels and flights from over 480 airlines covering 2,600 airports in 200 countries.
Andy Washington said: “It’s not just a new job for me but a newly-created position at Trip.com Group and its increased focus on the Europe market.”
The industry veteran has enjoyed 30 years working at the sharp end of travel technology. However he feels experience alone isn’t enough.
“It’s about looking to the future and consumer patterns; where demand lies; and what the data is telling us. What excites me about the role is the opportunity to grow the inbound market and utilise the customer base from China,” he said.
Europe market
Trip.com Group has historically enjoyed a significant share of the Chinese market travelling to Europe. Recently it has shifted its European focus to domestic markets within Europe.
Andy said: “European demand, both outbound and inbound, has been phenomenal as the continent bounces back from Covid. This gap between demand and supply is leading to challenges this summer and logistics, for example as we’ve been seeing with the cancellation of flights from Heathrow.
“The Group has heavily invested in Europe last year, knowing we wanted to emerge from Covid having invested in our technology, our people and our partnerships. Our core business is as a flight operator and the flight technology we deliver.
“But now we’re leaning into accommodation, which is bringing additional volume into the business. Globally we have more than 1.2 million hotels, but what differentiates us from other suppliers is about doing it better and in partnership.
“We are now seeing performance in China and Asia starting to grow, with long-haul rebounding. It’s exciting to see,” he added.
He also thinks that Trip.com Group can compete with the likes of Expedia and Booking.com. He said: “We have a long-term goal for Trip.com to be the number OTA in Europe, and our strategy is to solve the wants and needs of the consumer through our technology, customer service and supply. There’s room for several players in the market.”
Etihad partnership
Sustainability is also a key factor for the company. Its brand, Trip.com, recently teamed up with Etihad to offer travellers free flight carbon offsetting to mark Earth Day. The month-long ‘travel with a smaller footprint’ campaign enabled Trip.com users to book selected Etihad flights with their carbon emissions offset for free.
Andy believes legislation will drive a shift to mandatory offsetting through the sector.
He said: “This one-month promotion has told us that consumers choose a carrier because of offsetting. It makes commercial sense all round: for the consumer, the carrier and for Trip.com. Partners who don’t match this commitment to the environment will only be left behind by the consumer.
“Sustainability will only become increasingly important in travel. The next step will be more legislation and regulation, and these will help drive sustainability. Trip.com Group wants to encourage people to travel, but also to do it sustainably. Newer generations are demanding more of it.”
Abu Dhabi key demand
The growth of European travel to the Middle East is also a trend Washington sees continuing.
He said: “The UAE is an attractive proposition – consumers love the quality of carriers such as Etihad, the quality of the accommodation and the great value for demand. It’s a great destination offering sun, beaches and great cultural attractions. We also enjoy excellent partnership with Abu Dhabi DCT who are keen to work with us to fulfil the strong consumer demand.”
Mobile booking
Andy Washington feels that the percentage of bookings made on a mobile is a trend that will only increase.
“Generation Y book travel through apps, and 90 percent of our bookings from Asia are made through the app. Europe is going the same way.
“The big leverage for the group is our Trip.com app. The advantage is that it can be used in resort, to make bookings, changes and refunds whilst on the road. The whole end-to-end travel funnel is conducted through the app, from inspiration with social media, through to search, booking and aftercare.
“Machine learning and artificial intelligence excite me most. They can be used in travel to give experiences and understand what a hotel room looks like and the views. It also enables us to source the right supply to meet the demand. And the beauty is that the demand is always there.”