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Article: Tour operators eye online entities' entry into packaged travel arena. (In the News).(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Hot Rod
- Article date:
- August 26, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Advanstar Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW YORK -- The giddy period of tour operator acquisitions is just a fading memory now. As tour operators retrench to cope with the problems of the sluggish economy and the effects on travel of the events of Sept. 11, the question has become not so much whether that form of consolidation will return but if the tour operators themselves will be taken over by the online giants such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz.
Many industry observers believe that Expedia's purchase of Classic Custom Vacations in January is just the tip of the iceberg and that most tour operators eventually will ally themselves with online companies in an effort to generate business.
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