Is Amazon the latest metasearch site for travel?
Amazon Prime Day is fast approaching, and as we’ve seen in the past, it’s not exactly news for the travel industry. But this year, Amazon has a dedicated “Prime Day Travel Sales” page featuring big-name brands like Carnival Cruise Lines, Southwest Airlines, and TripAdvisor’s experience brand Viator. Rental car companies Turo, Sixt, and Avis are also participating.
Travel brands taking part in the July 16-17 shopping event said the opportunity to sell with the online retail giant was appealing.
“Consumers are interested in unique experiences, and this Prime Day offer puts cruise travel in the eyes of the target demographic we want to reach,” said Amy Martin Ziegenfuss, chief marketing officer for Carnival Cruise Line.
She continued, “Amazon is a great partner with whom we have collaborated on other activities. Making Cruise available on Prime Day strengthens our partnership and increases value for customers of both brands.”
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Similarly, Viator, which recently partnered with Amazon Alexa, expressed excitement about selling through Amazon.
“As the first travel experience marketplace to offer Amazon Prime Day sales, [United States]”We’re thrilled to bring more than 300,000 activities, tours and experiences directly to the millions of travelers who shop on Amazon every day,” said Laurel Greatrix, vice president of brand and communications at Viator.
Greatrix said the partnership is one of “thousands” of ways Viator is exploring reaching travelers where they’re already shopping as it continues to expand its operator distribution.
Amazon has announced that it is offering discounted flights, experiences, and rides through Amazon Travel, where Prime members can get perks like a 30% discount off base fares on Southwest Airlines and 20% off experiences on Viator.
It’s unclear whether Amazon will continue to offer travel deals after Prime Day ends.
This is Amazon’s first full-page travel deals promotion, though the company teamed up with Priceline to offer Prime Day deals last year. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but there have been rumors of the company potentially entering the online travel market for some time.
